


If Our Love is Tragedy, Why are You My Remedy?

by StephaniD



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate universe - Mafia, Contains OCs, F/F, Gen, Hints of Hollence, Hollstein - Freeform, Hollstien, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Italian Mafia, Mafia AU, Period-Typical Homophobia, this may count as a slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2018-08-12 10:13:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7930762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StephaniD/pseuds/StephaniD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mafia AU where mobster Carmilla is tasked with protecting Laura Hollis. Post-escaping the coffin (timeline might not be entirely canon-compliant on that bit).<br/>Warning for misgendering of LaF due to time period.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Joining the Mafia

**Author's Note:**

> I saw the picture below on Natasha's ig (I think) and had the inspiration for a Mafia AU. I did edit the lighting, coloring, and cropping for this fic. I'm not making any money from this.

 

Carmilla had determined that the best bet for her safety from Maman was to get into the Mafia. She had found some Mafia competitors and took the men out barehanded, leaving their guns piled up, giving the cops an anonymous tip from a payphone. It made the front page on all the newspapers. A week later she did it again, keeping her ear to the ground at the bars. When folks started talking about finding the “strongman devil” that had killed so many gangsters with just his hands, she mentioned that she may know a guy. A few days later, she had a meeting.

She arrived at the specified bar a little early, alone save the bartender. She was in a black waistcoat to show off her arms, a black trilby still on indoors to hide her eyes. She checked that she was in the right bar, the bartender told her ‘they’ll be here’ and went back to wiping things down with a grimy rag. After a few minutes of waiting she began to play billiards alone, bored and anxious, needing to do something. Eventually 3 middle-aged men in nice suits entered and nodded to the bartender.  
“You were told to bring your friend who killed those men.” The one in the middle stated. She glanced up at him, sank the orange solid ball in the side pocket, and straightened.  
“I did. You’re looking at her.” She held the pool cue across her shoulders nonchalantly. The men chuckled.  
“You’re expecting us to believe you did that?”  
“Yeah, I’d have to be stupid to say I did something like that without being able to back it up.” She shrugged. The men looked at each other.  
“Alright, bring in Big Toby.” The man in the man in the middle said. The one to his left went to the door and poked his head out. A few seconds later he returned with a much larger man behind him. Big Toby didn’t have a trim waist like fake carnival strongmen, but rather he was built like a wooden barrel and was shedding his suit jacket as he approached.

“What’s your name?” The other subordinate asked.  
“Carmilla Karnstein.”  
“Fresh off the boat?”  
“Second generation, that matter?” In actuality she had only been in The United States about a year, but her English was good, her Austrian accent slight enough that she could get away with claiming to be born here.  
“Not at all, as long as you can get the job done.”  
“Big Toby, Miss Karnstein here claims to be the one to do what we read about in the papers. Try not to kill her.” The man in charge said as he and his companions got out of the way of the fight. Big Toby had draped his jacket, waistcoat, tie, and button-up on the bar, facing her in slacks and an undershirt, his suspenders pulled back up.  
“I’m assuming that suggestion goes for me, as well.” Carmilla rolled her neck, moving the pool cue to her side.  
“You’re the one who killed all those guys?” Big Toby asked.  
“Yup.” She deadpanned. Big Toby shrugged before lunging at her.

She dropped, rolling beneath the pool table, keeping hold of the cue. When she stood, Big Toby shoved the table at her. She jumped to land on the green felt but it fell as it slid, instead of just sliding along the floor like she expected, sending balls bouncing and rolling around the floor and changing the profile. The side caught her foot and sent her to the floor head-first, the pool cue clattering off somewhere. Big Toby tried to pin her down with a barstool, but she grabbed the footstand and kicked the seat hard, sending him over her head. His back hit the edge of the pool table that had caught her foot and he groaned. Carmilla backed up warily, waiting to see if he would get up. He slumped to the floor then held his back as he stood. He stumbled toward her and grabbed her around the middle as he fell forward, bashing the back of her head to the floor. Her ears rang and vision blurred as she attempted to fight him off, but vampire or not, it slowed her reaction time. Big Toby grabbed her around the throat with both hands, lifting her up off the floor, off her feet. She cursed her small frame and praised the fact that she didn’t actually need oxygen, grabbing his fingers and prying them backwards towards his wrists until he dropped her. She landed in a crouch and used a tiny bit of superspeed and enough super strength to bowl him over as he clutched his hands together. She found the pool cue on the floor and placed the tip on his throat, standing on his wrists. His heart was beating hard. 

Any sane person would surrender, but Big Toby twisted his torso, throwing her off balance. He caught an ankle and pulled, sending her to the floor where he rolled on top of her, on top of pool balls. Big Toby was heavy, but hell, they wanted Carmilla to prove herself. And the pool balls pressing into her  _hurt_. She did a single push-up, jolting the large man off her back, then stood and watched him. They were both breathing hard as they stared at each other. She leapt forward, aiming a punch at his midsection, but since she was only allowing herself to use superspeed very sparingly, he caught her and twisted her arms behind her back. She stomped on his foot, but he merely grunted in pain and pulled her wrists closer to her shoulderblades. She tried again and he shouted at the pain, but didn't release her. Just as the mobsters took a step forward to end the fight, she donkey-kicked one of Big Toby’s knees. He howled and released her to clutch at his knee, she quickly got behind him and put him in a headlock, not about to release him until either he stopped fighting her or she was told to let him go. He passed out first.

“I don’t think I broke anything major but you should get him to a doctor.” Carmilla said as she swiftly lowered Big Toby to the floor. She grabbed her trilby from the floor and put it back on, she hadn’t noticed when she lost it.  
“He’s still alive.” The man in charge noted. She took it as a question.  
“It’s not good business practice to blatantly murder an employee of the person you’re hoping to be employed by.”  
“Miss Karnstein, I do believe we can find some work for you.”

The mobsters appreciated having some unexpected muscle, someone who could calm the cops as easily as knock them out. She was glad the Mafia operated mainly at night, she hated daywalking. Over the next couple of years she worked smuggling gigs, then moved up to protection details, her reputation getting better. She even got to be acquainted with Big Toby over the course of a few jobs once his sprained knee and broken foot healed up. She was never offered a chance to move up, though, even though she was regarded as loyal and useful; she assumed it was sexism and maybe some xenophobia. She was basically an unmade _soldati_ , which she supposed made picking up and leaving easier when the time came. Sometimes she had to pretend to go on dates with the gangsters’ stupid weak sons for their protection, but they were intimidated by her, for which she was glad. She was an okay actress, but having one of them actually fall for her was out of the question, and she told them so. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation of Mafia Terms:  
> Made- to become part of the mob.  
> Soldati- the lowest members of the Mafia that are considered part of the mob.


	2. Right From the Start You Were a Thief You Stole My Heart, and I Your Willing Victim

* * *

“Miss Karnstein, one of the other _capos_ , Mr. Hollis, would like to avail you of your services.” Her capo told her one mid-October day.  
“What's the job?”  
“Protecting his daughter. Usual pay.”  
“Sure. She want to go to the movies or something?”  
“You’ll have to discuss the specifics with Mr. and Miss Hollis. He’s just in the next room.”  
“Yes, sir.” She nodded at her capo and went to the room next door.

“Mr. Hollis, I'm Carmilla Karnstein, I'm told you want me on a protection detail for your daughter?” She shook the man’s hand. Mr. Hollis had salt-and-pepper hair, a firm handshake, and tired eyes.  
“Yes, thank you Miss Karnstein. Please have a seat, there are some peculiarities about this job I need to discuss with you.” She sat, watching him. He placed the tips of his fingers together.  
“First of all, a distinction. You will not be on **a** protection detail, you will **be** the protection detail. Secondly, I know you don’t have your button yet, but you must keep _omertà_ at all times, Laura believes me to be a banker. She’s 19 by the way. I recently received a letter at my home threatening my daughter. The bastards who sent it are being tracked down, but I want to be certain my daughter is safe.”  
“So this is an indefinite job?”  
“Until those threatening my daughter are caught, yes.”  
“What are the hours?”  
“Ideally, afternoons, evenings, weekends. I could set you up in the guest room in our house if you like so you don't have to commute.”  
“I’ll think about that second bit.” Carmilla nodded. “Cover story?”  
“You're from a private protection firm. No need to find a uniform, clothes like those you're wearing now will be fine.”  
“Starting when?”  
“As soon as you’re available.”  
“I’m available now, sir.”  
“Then let’s go introduce you.” Mr. Hollis stood and held out a hand to help her up, which Carmilla accepted though she didn’t need it.

“Why only afternoons and evenings?” Carmilla asked during the car ride, not that she was complaining about the hours.  
“I drive Laura to school in the mornings and a friend drives her home in the afternoons. I’d like if you were able to be there when she got home from school, so she’s never alone.”    
“Weekends?”  
“Only if needed, not every weekend.”  
“And you’d like my relationship with Laura to be?”  
“If she wants to be your friend I certainly wouldn’t object. You won’t need to look after her much, she’s a very capable girl, but answering the door, accompanying her on outings, that sort of thing.” The rest of the ride to the Hollis house was relatively quiet, baseball playing on the radio. Carmilla lit a cigarette and Mr. Hollis asked her to not smoke around Laura, so she flicked the ember out the window. Mr. Hollis probably expected her to ask questions about Laura, but she’d meet the girl soon enough.

The Hollis house was completely average, single story, brick outside; with tasteful wallpaper and knick-knacks inside. The letter-opener on the table by the door was a tad odd, but could be explained. Carmilla would never have guessed it belonged to a Mafia Capo, which was rather the point.   
“Laura?” Mr. Hollis called as he entered the house.  
“Papa?” A girl replied.  
“There’s someone here I’d like you to meet.”  
“Coming.” The girl entered the living room, smiling, her long light-brown hair straight. She was wearing a light blue button-up, a navy skirt that stopped just below her knees, and she was barefoot. She was definitely cute.  
“Carmilla, my daughter. Laura, this is Carmilla Karnstein, I’ve hired her to help keep you safe for a while, like we discussed.”  
“Nice to meet you, Miss Karnstein.” Laura responded politely, holding a hand out to shake. Her father had apparently taught her the value of a good handshake, Carmilla noted.  
“You can call me Carmilla.” She smirked a little, which Mr. Hollis didn’t notice, but Laura did.  
“Laura, why don’t you give Carmilla a tour while I work on dinner?”  
“Okay, Papa.” She smiled and shyly waved Carmilla after her, showing her around. 

“That door leads to the basement, if anything happens I’m supposed to hide down there… This is the guest room, you can stay here if you like.”  
“Haven’t made up my mind yet.” It was alright, it had a full sized bed, dresser, and mirror.

“And this is my room.” Laura sat on her twin-sized bed, Carmilla stood in the doorway. She tried to make her position less awkward by crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame. Laura’s room was cute, if a little juvenile. Pink walls covered in newspaper clippings, a few stuffed animals on the yellow lace bedspread that matched the curtains and window valance, the only part that seemed properly mature was the bookshelf covered in textbooks, journalism books, and journals, next to the desk covered in newspapers and topped with a plate of crumbs. “You can come in.” Laura chuckled, patting the bed beside her. “Are you always this nervous when you start a protection job?”  
“Well, Cutie, you’re the first protection job like this I’ve gotten.” Carmilla replied honestly, settling down a good couple of feet from the girl.  
“What are your usual jobs like?”  
“I protect things from people who want to take them. Sometimes I protect people for an evening or two. You’re my first extended live job.”  
“Did Papa tell you why you’re protecting me?”  
“Not very much.” It was the truth, and Carmilla was curious as to what Mr. Hollis had told his daughter to keep his profession secret. The girl’s heartbeat remained steady, not scared of the threat Carmilla was there to protect her from.  
“He’s a banker, and I guess some people are still really mad at the bankers about the Depression, because a little while ago he got a letter here at home that if he didn’t pay money then I was going to end up hurt. I tried to look into it, I’m taking an introductory Journalism course at NYU, but he’s really worried and hid the letter and envelope and everything from me.”  
“Is he always really worried about stuff?” Carmilla didn’t want to call Mr. Hollis paranoid to his daughter’s face, but when you were in the Mafia being paranoid was rarely a bad idea.  
“Yeah, he had me take some self-defense classes in high school, he doesn’t like me going out on dates alone, stuff like that.” Laura shrugged. Carmilla was now fairly certain that part of the reason Mr. Hollis had asked for her over the other Mafiosos and associates was because there was no chance of her raping Laura. Carmilla was about to ask Laura what her mom thought of the protectiveness, but since she hadn’t seen any evidence of another female figure around the house she decided now wasn’t a good time for that discussion.

“Journalism at NYU?” She asked. Laura nodded excitedly.  
“I love reading the newspapers, the hard-hitting stuff, the journalists who find stuff out and spread the information to everybody. Like Nellie Bly, she went _undercover_ into a _sanatorium_ for _days_ and reported on how bad it was for women there, because nobody else cared because all those women were declared insane.” Her heartbeat picked up in excitement.  
“Mmm.”  
“And Nellie Bly wasn’t her real name, she had to use a pseudonym to protect herself. I uh, I guess she couldn’t hire a strong young woman like you to help with that.” Laura ran a hand through her hair as Carmilla blinked. Usually when the punk sons of the Capos tried a line like that she’d give him an earful of how easily she could leave him alone, or even hurt him herself. But with Laura, who didn’t know who Carmilla worked for, and was clearly nervous, she felt only shy awkward warmth for the girl.

“Laura, Miss Karnstein, dinner will be ready soon.” Mr. Hollis appeared in the doorway. “Miss Karnstein, I won’t be needed at work again until tomorrow, but you’re welcome to stay for homemade spaghetti.”  
“Thank you Mr. Hollis, that sounds very nice.” She and Laura stood.  
“Papa has to work late a lot.” Laura explained as she lead the way into the kitchen. “He doesn’t like the idea of me here alone now, especially in the evenings.”  
“Completely understandable.” Carmilla responded.

“So, er, would you prefer I call you Miss Karnstein or Carmilla?” Mr. Hollis asked awkwardly once they were all seated.  
“You may call me whichever you like, it doesn’t much matter to me. Since you’re currently my employer I’d view it as disrespectful to call you anything less formal than Mr. Hollis.”  
“Then I will refer to you as Miss Karnstein.”  
“Are you both done?” Laura chuckled at their awkward conversation. “Carmilla, that’s a very interesting accent, where are you from?”  
“My mother is from Austria, she settled here in New York before I was born.” A blatant lie, Carmilla was over 200 years old, and she and Maman had rarely visited the European colonies when she was on her mother’s good side; part of the reason she had fled here when she escaped.  
“Do you live with her? I’d hate to worry her, keeping you out at all hours.” Laura frowned. Carmilla was beginning to see why Mr. Hollis wanted protection for the girl.  
“No, I live in a lodging house, and she doesn’t much worry about me.”

After dinner Laura bade Carmilla a good evening and Mr. Hollis drove her back to her own car, giving her a house key and informing her he expected her there at 2 the next afternoon, and she’d be paid Fridays. She was welcome to stay with them in the guest room at any time, especially if Mr. Hollis was late and Carmilla didn’t want to drive at night. She politely informed him that she’d be commuting, and would give him notice if that was to change. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation of Mafia Terms:  
> Capo- a leader in charge of at least 10 soldati.  
> Omertà- a code of silence.  
> Made/Button- to become part of the mob.  
> Soldati- the lowest members of the Mafia that are considered part of the mob.


	3. Day 1

The next day Carmilla rose at 1:30, hitting her alarm clock and squinting at the sunlight that filtered through her thick curtains. This was the second day in a row she’d had to wake so early. She downed a bottle of blood before getting up and getting dressed, grabbing her trilby and sunglasses before she left, meager protection from the sun. The landlady knew she kept odd hours, and didn’t care as long as her rent was paid. She knew her black trilby, sunglasses, blazer, skirt, and heels would draw stares, they fit her perfectly and stood out in the sea of colors others wore; but as long as no-one spoke to her she would have no reason to tear them limb from limb. She hoped she could get used to these hours. If humans could be awake at any hour, she should be able to do it easily.

She missed the Hollis’ house when she first drove by, it blended in so well she had to check the address Mr. Hollis had had her write on her arm. She let herself into the house at 2:15. She didn’t know when Laura was getting home. She decided to check out the basement, the only room she hadn’t seen yet.

Carmilla headed down the stairs, expecting to find a saferoom. The door was thick and reinforced, with 6 good locks from the inside, but the basement itself was cold, damp, dark. It had boxes of things not needed just then, tinned food, holiday decorations, extra blankets. It had a clothes-washing machine in the corner. It didn’t have much by way of obvious weapons, aside from a large metal locker with a combination lock on it. She wondered how much time Laura had spent trying to crack it, and if she’d succeeded. She caught the sound of a car slowing outside and sped up the stairs, carefully closing the door behind her.

The car turned into the driveway and Carmilla peered out a window to see Laura, who was wearing a pink blouse with red skirt, talking to a young woman driving a burgundy car, the driver had a long red plait over one shoulder. She pointed to Carmilla, Laura glanced at her and waved, nodding to the redhead. Carmilla waved back, trying to ignore her anger at being pointed at. The redhead raised a hand and smiled in greeting at Carmilla before driving away.   
“Hello Laura.” Carmilla opened the door just before the girl reached it.  
“Hello Carmilla. Papa said you'd be starting today, and to tell you he expects to work late.” She grinned and headed to her room, still talking, so Carmilla followed. “Danny usually gets me here about 2:30, I hope you didn't arrive too early. That was Danny driving the car by the way, her full name’s Danielle Lawrence and she's third generation from Ireland. She saw your car and was nervous but I explained it was probably yours. We have a literature class together, it's almost as fun as my journalism class.” She continued to chatter as she took off her tennis shoes and socks and went to the kitchen.

“ _Kannol? Bisscot?_ ” Laura asked, opening a flimsy cardboard box on the counter. “Papa knows I like sweets, so he tries to bring some home pretty regularly.” Carmilla peered into the box at the array of tiny pastries, now able to identify the crumbs she’d seen in Laura's room the previous evening.   
“I don't know what any of these are.” Carmilla admitted. It wasn't like she was invited to any Mafia brunches, and when she was last in Italy she didn’t eat much food.   
“ _Cannoli._ ” Laura pointed to the fried bread tube with white filling piped inside. “ _Biscotti._ ” That was the cookie-stick that looked to have been chopped off a flat loaf. “ _Eclair._ ” That was a chocolate-topped oval pastry. “Creampuff.” Tiny puffed pastry bites with what looked to be custard inside. “And the rest are just cookies.” Carmilla took a biscotti, Laura chuckled at her facial expressions as the cookie was harder than she expected. “Don't break your teeth.” The girl giggled, taking a bite of an eclair. Carmilla got a bite of biscotti, dropping crumbs to the floor in the process. She frowned at the lack of sweetness, then swiftly (but gently) took Laura's wrist in her hand and took a bite of the eclair. “Hey!” The girl protested.  
“You have good judgment.” Carmilla commented around a mouthful of eclair. It turned out to be custard-filled. Laura sighed and leaned against the counter.

“So how early did you get here?” The girl asked.   
“Only about 15 minutes before you.”   
“What did you do?”   
“Reacquainted myself with the layout of your house.” Carmilla shrugged. Laura frowned at her for a long few seconds. “What?”   
“You went into the basement, didn't you?”   
“What makes you say that?”   
“One- It's the only place you didn't see yesterday, and two- it's where I’m supposed to hide if something happens, and you're the one protecting me. And I can be reasonably sure you did it since you didn't refute me when I asked.” She declared triumphantly.   
“You got me, Young Miss Bly.” Carmilla responded dryly. “Have you opened the locker yet?” She hoped it didn’t contain any Tommys, those would be hard to explain as belonging to a banker.   
“Just to see if I could. It took a while. I only opened it an inch, I didn’t look inside.” Laura was staring at her eclair.   
“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, Buttercup. If it comes down to it I may need you to open that locker for me.” Carmilla warned. Laura stared at her.   
“Papa told you what’s in there?”   
“No, but I can guess.”   
“You think you might need guns? Here? Can you shoot a gun? Wait, ignore that, of course it would be here, that’s where the letter was sent, and of course someone who’s job it is to protect stuff can shoot a gun.” Laura babbled, thinking aloud, her heart rate raising slightly. “But do you really think you might need to do that? I just figured Papa was being overprotective like he always is.”   
“I haven’t seen the letter in question, so it’s hard to say. Better to be prepared.” They both stared at the floor as some custard from Laura’s eclair hit it, she’d been holding the pastry tighter as she got nervous.

“Okay, new topic, when did your family come to the States?” Carmilla stated bluntly.   
“Papa came over from Italy, so I’m second-generation, like you. He’s still super into Italian stuff, the food, the language. Did your mom teach you any Austrian?”   
“Some, but I mostly remember the curse words.” Carmilla lied with a smile. “No, I won’t teach them to you, I’d hate to be fired over something like that.”   
“Papa wouldn’t even know.” Laura cajoled.   
“Maybe later, don’t you have homework or something?”   
“That’s not part of your job description. You’re just supposed to protect me from people who want to hurt me.”   
“Which means you do have homework. Come on, Cupcake, weren’t you telling me how your classes are all super fun?” Carmilla teased. Laura rolled her eyes.

Carmilla was sitting on Laura’s bed reading one of the teenager’s books when the lighter haired young woman asked if Carmilla could make dinner.   
“I don’t cook, Doll.”   
“It’s okay, Papa works late so much he pays Miss Perry to bring us a few chilled meals every week. They’re in the refrigerator. They’ve even got instructions on them.”   
“Okay.” She shrugged and got up, making a mental note to bring her own book tomorrow, and possibly disguise her blood so she could bring that as well.

The girls didn’t talk much over dinner (which Carmilla somehow accidentally cooked on ‘broil’), but afterward Laura insisted they exchange telephone numbers. Carmilla warned her that the phone was for the entire building so the landlady or a different tenant may answer if the Hollises rang her up.

When Mr. Hollis got home at 11 she politely informed him that everything went smoothly.   
“Carmilla, you’re not going to drive home this late at night, are you?” Laura frowned. “You’ll fall asleep and crash your car.”   
“I won’t, I’m regularly awake this late. Don’t worry about me.” Carmilla smiled at the girl. Laura continued frowning, but let her go, only insisting that she call them once she was at her lodging house. On the ride home Carmilla allowed herself to roll her eyes at the girl. Babysitting Laura Hollis looked like some easy money and a good way to prove her loyalty to the mob. When she got back to the house she called the number on the paper Laura had given her and informed a tired Laura that she was safe.   
“Thanks.” The girl yawned.   
“Now get some sleep, sweetheart.” She chuckled, putting the phone down before Laura could respond. 


	4. Meeting Danny

The next day Carmilla got up at 1, groaning and grumbling under her breath about only having gotten 7 hours of sleep. She went and bought a Thermos, filling it with blood and tucking it in her purse, along with a book. When she got to the Hollis’ she put her drink in the refrigerator and started to read.  
“Hello Carmilla. Danny wants you to know she’s glad you’re here, she’s been worried about me since Papa got that letter.” Laura started talking as soon as she entered the house, Carmilla kept an ear on her from the living room to her bedroom to the kitchen.  
“Is this your drink in the refrigerator?”  
“Yes.”  
“Is it alcoholic?”  
“No.”  
“If it is you could always stay in the guest room, you could borrow some of my pajamas if you want, we’re probably the same size.”  
“It’s not alcoholic, it’s… It’s a nutrition drink. I’m on a diet.” Carmilla joined Laura in the kitchen, reaching past the girl for a creampuff from the pastry box. They were quite good.  
“Well, it’s working great, especially if you feel like you can have biscotti and eclair and creampuffs…” Her heartbeat picked up a tad. “That was meant to be a compliment, I kind of feel like it came out wrong and if I offended you I’m so sorry.”  
“Relax, you’re fine. Any idea what time your dad will be home today?”  
“He expects to work late again, so you get another try at cooking dinner?” Laura tried to sound enthusiastic.  
“Overjoyed.” Carmilla deadpanned.

Carmilla quickly fell into Laura's after-school routine, leaving before dinner when Mr. Hollis got home early enough, heating up food when he didn't. He gave her an envelope full of cash on Friday. She wasn't needed all weekend and could sleep from dawn to dusk, which she gladly did.

Carmilla was taken aback Monday when Laura entered with “Hey Carmilla, this is my friend Danny. Papa’s working late tonight so it’ll be the three of us for dinner.”  
“Wait.” Carmilla demanded, using a bit of thrall, putting her book down on the sofa and standing. The students froze.  
“I forgot to tell you on Friday, didn't I?” Laura guessed, pulling a nervous face.  
“Red, front and center.” Carmilla commanded. The young woman walked over, wary and confused, Laura sporting a similar look, both their heartbeats increasing slightly in pace. Carmilla was glad she was in heels while the redhead was in tennis shoes, it made up the height difference somewhat. Not really, but it did make her look more intimidating. “Full name Danielle Lawrence?”  
“Yes?”  
“How old are you?”  
“20.”  
“How long have you known Laura?”  
“Just this semester.”  
“Oh jeez.” Laura muttered.  
“So, about a month and a half?” Carmilla continued.  
“Yes, ma’am.”  
“How long do you expect to be staying tonight?”  
“I dunno, when we finish our homework.” She looked to Laura for help.  
“Carmilla, you don't need to do this, Danny won't hurt me.” Laura stomped over. She was adorable even when angry, features bunched around her nose. “She's been over when Papa’s not here before. She was here last Monday, after the letter came and before Papa hired you. The two of us were alone for a few hours and I'm plainly not dead.” She grabbed the ginger's hand and started pulling her to the pink and yellow bedroom, but Carmilla held up a finger.  
“One more question. Did you park behind my car?” The young woman glanced toward the front window before shaking her head. “Alright, I'll be here keeping an ear open, let me know if you want me to put food in the oven.” Last week she had joined Laura in her bedroom, but decided that after making an example she could show some trust. Plus the room was a little small for 3 people, she didn't want to have to sit on the bed with the beanpole, or sit on the floor. She couldn't help but wonder how much about herself Laura had divulged to her friends at University in the short time she’d known them.

She heard Laura's whispered apology about her and nodded internally. Hopefully that would help Laura to remember to tell her when people were coming over. And they really had no idea if Danielle Lawrence was the one who’d sent the letter, she may just be biding her time, waiting for Mr. Hollis to pay. Irish-Americans didn't get the best jobs, and university was pricey.

Carmilla managed to not overcook dinner, though it probably could have done with more time in the oven. She’d been taking a small portion of dinner to keep up appearances, but mostly drank from her Thermos. About an hour after dinner the girls finished with their homework. Laura waved her friend off from the front door.

“You really didn't need to do that to Danny.” Laura frowned at Carmilla, hands on her hips. “You know she's the one who drives me home, she could have killed or kidnapped me dozens of times by now if that's what she wanted.” Carmilla calmly put her book down.  
“At this point, I don't know that. Until whoever sent that letter is caught, I need to be careful of everyone who's near you when I'm around.” Carmilla explained, trying to keep her voice level.  
“Danny's not going to hurt me, though-”  
“You've known her for six or seven weeks maximum. Who's to say she didn't come over to study, see all the nice things you have, and decide to threaten your father with hurting you? The point is not to hurt you, the point is to scare your father so he gives whoever wrote the letter money. You are a chess piece that someone has decided to use against your father-.” She stopped, she was too emotional. Laura stomped to her room, heart beating hard. One week into the job and she’d fucked up. “I’m stepping outside for a smoke.” She called, grabbing her purse. She heard Laura sniffling in her room.

Partway through her cigarette she heard a soft squeak from the backyard. She began to creep around the house when she heard Laura sniffle, and the shuffling of cloth against both wood and skin. She walked around the house normally to find the girl pulling a backpack on.  
“Are you trying to get yourself kidnapped?” She hissed, Laura spun toward her, face red and puffy from crying.  
“I’m spending the night at Danny's.” She stated. “I left a note for you and Papa on my desk.”  
“Get inside, call your father and Danny, and then I will drive you.” She hated having to be the responsible one. She'd known this girl about 7 days and was acting like a parent.  
“Danny said I’m always welcome.” Laura retorted, walking past Carmilla.  
“What about her parents?”  
“I'm sure they'll understand.”  
“Do you know your way there?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Won't let me drive you?”  
“Nope.” She was confident of that last one, at least, striding into the front lawn. Carmilla could easily subdue her, but she didn't want to cause a scene and/or hurt the girl. She drove with Laura the whole way to Danny's house. The brunette was shivering by the time she’d walked the 2 miles or so, though Carmilla had offered the nice warm car 3 separate times. She parked at the curb, waving to the Lawrence parents when they looked at her. Unless she was beckoned, she was content to make Laura tell the whole ‘I got in a fight with my babysitter’ story alone. Laura entered the house and the parents waved at Carmilla again as she pulled away.

“Hello?” The man answered when he picked up the telephone.  
“Hello, Carmilla Karnstein in the waste management business looking for Mr. Hollis.”  
“I can take a message and he’ll get back to you.”  
“Urgent message. Need a sit-down with daughter, spending the night with friend, call for details.” The man read it back, she confirmed, and he said he’d do his best.

The phone rang.  
“Hollis residence.”  
“Miss Karnstein?”  
“Laura and I had a bit of a heated discussion. Are you comfortable with her spending the night with Miss Danielle Lawrence and her family?”  
“Yes, I trust them, they're good people.”  
“I’d like for the 3 of us to have a sit-down together to discuss this, if you're alright with that.”  
“I should be able to leave at 5 tomorrow. I should have warned you how headstrong my girl can be.”  
“What would you like me to do for now?”  
“You can go home, Miss Karnstein, I need to call Laura.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation of Mafia Terms:   
> Waste management/garbage disposal- the Mafia.


	5. Discussion

“Hey Carmilla.” Laura mumbled as she entered the house. “Sorry about yesterday.” Carmilla nodded to acknowledge the apology.  
“Your father will be home on time today and we can all discuss what happened.”  
“Okay.” Carmilla stayed in the living room as Laura went to her room to do homework.

“Hello.” Mr. Hollis called as he arrived home.  
“Hey Papa.” Laura responded from her room.  
“Mr. Hollis.” Carmilla stood to shake his hand.  
“Miss Karnstein, how do you feel about some good Sicilian pizza?”  
“Sounds good.”  
“Would you like to watch? Laura's told me you could use some lessons in the kitchen.”  
“Sure.” She tucked her book into her purse and followed her boss, retrieving her blood from the refrigerator to sip. She watched him make the dough and toss it, make tomato sauce, slice up a large hunk of mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni on top of that. She'd known the words before, but only ever pronounced with an American accent, not the proper Italian. Watching him also helped distract her from the upcoming conversation.

“Dinner.” Mr. Hollis announced, pulling the pizza out of the oven. “Very hot.” The trio each took a slice and waited for it to cool. Carmilla waited for Mr. Hollis to start, she'd never been to a Mafia meeting before. Laura's heart was beating a little fast. “So, last night you two and Miss Danielle Lawrence had a disagreement.”  
“It was more about Danny than involving her.” Laura murmured. Mr. Hollis gestured for her to continue. “Carmilla was interrogating Danny like a criminal. I understand that I messed up in not telling her that Danny and I do homework together on Mondays, but she made Danny feel like she was under suspicion.” Laura told her father. Carmilla tried not to bristle at being talked about like she wasn't there.  
“What made you decide to spend the night at Danny's?”  
“Carmilla insulted me.” Laura mumbled.  
“Alright.” Mr. Hollis remained calm, his heartbeat steady. “Miss Karnstein?”  
“Sir?”  
“What happened last night?”  
“I admit I may have overstepped my bounds, and I lost control of my temper, but to be frank I consider everyone not at this table a possible threat.”  
“Understood. What happened last night?”  
“I was surprised by you bringing a friend home, and tried to determine if she could in any way have ulterior motives for befriending you.” Carmilla addressed Laura. “I apologize for what I said after your friend left, I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me.”  
“Laura, anything to say?” Mr. Hollis asked gently. She shook her head. “Both good?” The ladies both shrugged. Carmilla guessed they all sensed this wasn't over, the conversation would continue the next afternoon when Mr. Hollis wasn't there to mediate. The pizza was quite good and they ate in near-silence, Carmilla excused herself and drove home when she was finished. 


	6. Fun Stuff

Carmilla doubted waking while the sun was up would ever be easy for her. She'd been doing it for a workweek and every morning she had to fight not to fall back to sleep. Luckily breakfast helped her stay awake.

“I'm still mad at you.” Laura stated as she entered the house.  
“Okay.” Carmilla replied casually. It didn't really matter if Laura liked her, she just had to keep the girl safe. After kicking off her shoes Laura returned to the living room and sat on the floor in front of the black-clad young woman. Carmilla lowered her book and raised an eyebrow.  
“Something you'd like to say to me?” She kept her voice neutral.  
“Haven't decided yet.” Laura was frowning.  
“Okay.” Carmilla resumed reading. Laura would surely start to talk when she was ready, the silence from the girl was getting rather odd.

Ten minutes later Laura was still sitting there, staring at Carmilla, silently worrying her lower lip with her teeth. That action sat right on the border of ‘cute’ and ‘sexy’ in Carmilla's mind, and she did not need to be thinking about her protectee like that. Plus she was more than 175 years Laura's senior.  
“Alright Cutie, I’ll bite, what are you thinking about?”  
“We have a project in Journalism class to learn about someone in our lives-”  
“No.” Carmilla stated.  
“You didn't even let me finish.” Laura objected.  
“Okay.” Carmilla acquiesced, then pitched her voice higher and more whiny. “I was thinking, since you're so tough and mysterious and interesting and amazing, that I'd do my project on you.” She returned to her normal tone. “No.”  
“You're so-!” Laura stood and stormed to her room, heart beating quickly, Carmilla hiding a small smirk behind her book.

Laura moved about her room for a few minutes before returning to the living room with her tennis shoes back on, backpack and coat in hand.  
“I need you to take me to where immigration records are kept.”  
“I told you-” Carmilla sharply lowered her book.  
“I'm going to do my project on Papa. Problem?” Laura asked innocently. Carmilla had a big problem with that, not that she could voice it. She grabbed her things and they got in Carmilla’s car. They listened to the radio, Laura mouthing along with the music.

Carmilla drove to the immigration office and got them to the room with records, then sat in a chair, gesturing Laura to begin.  
“You're not going to help?” Laura asked.  
“Not my Journalism project, I’ve helped enough for today.” Carmilla pulled her book out. Laura huffed and got started.  
“This is taking so long!” She groaned an hour later. “I don't know when Papa arrived, or on which boat, and the records are written by different people so the handwriting keeps changing.”  
“Guess you’ll have to talk to him.” Carmilla commented.  
“Hey, when did your mom come over?” Laura asked excitedly.  
“I already told you ‘no’ once today.”  
“But maybe your mom and my dad arrived at similar times.”  
“There is literally nothing to base that theory on.”  
“But the whole reason to do this project on Papa was to learn about him without having to ask.” She stated grumpily.  
“Then are you ready to go home, Young Miss Bly?” Carmilla asked. Laura scowled, but put back the paper she was looking at and got her coat on.

Carmilla kept expecting Laura to bring up their fight, but the girl seemed completely sidetracked by her journalism assignment. When they returned to the Hollis’ house Laura began searching for old pictures and letters. Carmilla did as she had gotten accustomed to, sitting on the sofa and reading. Eventually Laura put food in the oven, seeming to decide that since Carmilla couldn't cook and ate very little, asking her to cook wasn't the best idea.

Carmilla heard metal rattling against metal but didn't immediately register the source of the noise, she was only idly keeping an ear on the girl puttering about in the kitchen. Suddenly she heard Laura make a retching sound and rushed into the kitchen.  
“Why is your diet drink red and taste like pennies?” Laura asked, pulling a face.  
“Why are you going through other people's things without their permission?” Carmilla scowled and grabbed her Thermos out of Laura's hand. “I thought I told you not to do your Journalism project on me.”  
“You did, I was just curious because you only drink that, you bring it everywhere with you.”  
“You're lucky I don't care about germs.”  
“But why are you drinking blood?” Laura insisted. “Doesn't it make you throw up? Is that how you lose weight?”  
“Look, whatever you're thinking, drop it. This tastes like pennies because it's high in iron, and it's in my cup because it belongs to me.” She emphasized the last part of the sentence, returning to the living room before Laura could ask another question. She had to be more careful.

“Are you anemic or something?” Laura asked over dinner. Carmilla didn't respond. “‘Cause from what I've seen you stay thin by just plain not eating. Which isn't healthy.”  
“You're not a doctor.”  
“You can be so rude.” Laura observed. Carmilla almost wished she'd stated it with malice, that would be more understandable. “Why do you wear black all the time?”  
“Why do you wear so many colors?”  
“Are you in mourning?”  
“Maybe. Do I have to tell you again not to do your project on me?”  
“Just curious. Did someone die?”  
“In a manner of speaking.” Someone was certainly buried.  
“What does that mean?”  
“It means I'm not going to give you a finite answer so you might as well just give up.” Carmilla rinsed her plate in the sink, grabbed her cup, and returned to her book in the living room.

“Will you help me ask Papa about his immigration?” Laura asked, standing in front of Carmilla.  
“What?” She lowered her book. Laura repeated herself. “Why? He's your father, this is your school project.”  
“Please Carmilla? He doesn't like talking about his life in Italy and emigrating here.”  
“So find someone else to do your project on. Miss Lawrence or her parents or the woman who cooks you dinner or something.” Carmilla returned to her book. Laura groaned and went to her room.

“Hey, do you know when your mom came over from Austria?” Laura called a little while later.  
“You're not doing your project on my mom, either.” Carmilla replied.  
“I'm going to ring up Danny, could I have some privacy?” Laura asked as she entered the living room.  
“I’ll step outside for a smoke.” Carmilla grabbed her purse. Laura spoke quietly on the phone so Carmilla couldn't hear what she was saying through the front door.

“I'm done on the telephone, thanks.” Laura poked her head out the door.  
“Okay, Sunshine, be in in a minute.” She drawled before taking another drag on her cigarette.  
“After school tomorrow Danny and I are going to go to the library.” Laura informed her when she went back inside.  
“Alright. Any idea what time I should meet you here?”  
“No, sorry.”  
“I’ll be here at 3:30, then. If you get here and I’m not here, either Miss Lawrence stays here or you go to her house. Do not stay here alone.”  
“I know. You're okay with Danny now?” Laura smiled teasingly.  
“She's better than you being here alone.” Carmilla replied evenly. Laura rolled her eyes and huffed.  
“You remember where Danny lives?”  
“Probably not.” Carmilla admitted, Laura writing down the address and phone number.

Carmilla took that Thursday to sleep an hour later, though it didn't really help with waking up while the sun was still high in the sky.

When she got to the Hollis’ it was 3:23 and there was a blue pickup truck in the driveway in addition to Danny's burgundy car. She could faintly hear Laura and a boy’s voices when she got out of her car, but not what they were saying. She opened the front door harder than was necessary, quickly taking in the scene. Danny wasn't to be seen and Laura was halfway across the room from a boy about a foot taller than her. She was still wearing her tennis shoes.  
“What the frilly hell is this?!” Carmilla demanded. Laura took a step back from the black-clad woman's fury as the boy took a step towards it.  
“Hey there pretty lady. I'm Kirsch-” Carmilla focused on Laura.  
“Why did you let this _sautrottl_ inside?” The Austrian came to her lips naturally.  
“Let? What part of this looks like ‘let’?” Laura defended, heartbeat picking up slightly. “Kirsch was just leaving.”  
“But I-”  
“You heard her, _krocha_.” Carmilla grabbed the boy’s upper arm and steered him out of the house as he exclaimed in pain. She shoved him once they were out the door and he wound up sprawled on the lawn. She turned around and Danny entered the living room. “There you are.”

“What happened?” The redhead asked.  
“That's what I want to know.” Carmilla closed the front door. “Where were you?”  
“Checking the windows. We just got here, it took maybe 2 minutes?”  
“How does he know you?” Carmilla asked the both of them.  
“He goes to NYU with us.” Laura replied. “He overheard me telling Danny that I shouldn't be alone and we couldn't get rid of him, even at the library.”  
“I didn't realize he followed us here, I thought I shook him.” Danny added.  
“He was only in here for maybe a minute.”  
“Okay.” Carmilla stopped them, keeping calm. Her earlier show of force would intimidate the girls for a time. “How did he get in?”  
“We went inside and as I shut the door he pulled up, so I told him we were fine and he could leave, but he wanted to stay until Papa got home. At some point during that he slid inside, and I was trying to tell him that I was perfectly safe when you got here.”  
“Does he know about the letter?”  
“No.” The students answered in unison.  
“Is it likely he’ll return?”  
“Probably.”  
“Maybe. He's a pretty harmless idiot, though, just really annoying.” Danny informed her. Carmilla nodded.  
“Thank you for keeping Laura company Miss Lawrence-”  
“And for checking the windows.” Laura interrupted.  
“You can go home now.” Carmilla finished.  
“See you tomorrow?” Danny asked Laura, who nodded and smiled.

“So I found out some interesting things.” Laura stated when she returned from her room, heart beating a little fast.  
“You were at the library.” Carmilla replied, grabbing her book out of her purse.  
“Well, yes and no. We also went back to look at more immigration records.” Laura smiled nervously as Carmilla stared over her book. So that was why her heartbeat was quicker than normal.  
“I needed to start somewhere so I found the records for Austria-”  
“Stop.” Carmilla commanded. Laura pulled a paper out of her skirt pocket and unfolded it, reading the name, departure, and arrival times of the ship Carmilla took. “I said ‘stop’.” Carmilla snapped her book shut and threw it down on the couch. Laura's heartbeat quickened but she didn't back down.  
“You're a good actress, but you're not second-generation. You only arrived here 3 years ago.” She took a step back as Carmilla stood, glaring. “I read newspapers, Carmilla, I know what's going on over there. Are you Jew-” Carmilla clapped her hand over the girl's mouth. Laura pushed it away. “I don't care if you are. I won't tell anyone. Miss Perry is.”  
“I need to be alone right now.” Carmilla spoke quietly.  
“I didn't mean to find you in there. I just needed to be doing something.” Laura's tone was apologetic.  
“You wrote down the name of the boat that brought me here!” Carmilla fought not to yell.  
“Not to show anyone, just because I think it's really interesting! I don't care if you're a greenhorn or Jewish or anemic or anything, I just don't know anything about you.” Laura pleaded. Carmilla started pacing the living room, Laura backed out of her path. “Please Carmilla, I just want to get to know you better.” Laura said quietly.  
“ _Hau di übad heisa_.” Carmilla hissed; her tone and the Austrian language caused Laura to retreat to her room.

Carmilla read her book until Mr. Hollis arrived, when she politely declined dinner, and left. That evening she prowled the shadows, killing and drinking a prostitute. The woman tried to fight, of course, but she was no match for Carmilla. The hunt and fresh blood did little to settle her emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Austrian in this chapter will be translated in the next chapter.


	7. Carmilla Admits She Might Possibly Have Some Emotions for Laura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LaFontaine will be misgendered in this fic, since nonbinary genders weren't really talked about in the late 1930's NYC. You're welcome to send me a message at dolphin64575@yahoo.com if you want to talk about this.

The next day Carmilla read her book and drank from her cup. Laura arrived from school and told her that Kirsch had apologized but for the wrong reason, and that she hadn't told her father anything, and that she'd decided to do her project on Miss Perry's housemate and best friend, Miss LaFontaine, and had Carmilla seen this little article in one of the papers about how a hooker was found bled to death and the police have no leads. She apologized many more times during the course of this chatter. Carmilla looked at the girl over her book occasionally, but didn't respond, eventually Laura gave up and headed to her room. About an hour later Laura tried to give her a plate of creampuffs as a peace offering but Carmilla refused to take one. Laura left the plate on the sofa, Carmilla moved it to the kitchen. Mr. Hollis arrived, gave her her pay, and she left. She was pretty certain the man could sense the tension between the young women, but he didn't say anything to her.

“Hey, Big Toby.” She'd been hoping to find the man here.  
“Karny.”  
“Want to rack up a game, let me bend your ear?”  
“Sure.” They each grabbed a pool cue and started setting up a game.  
“You break.” She smiled.  
“So what's going on?”  
“The basics are: there's this person I see a lot, we talk. I’ve got a few big secrets I’m keeping from this person. They found out one of my secrets, I'm worried they’ll find out the others. The thing is, this person isn't going to tell my secret, and I think I’d still like to... be friends with them, even though I'm mad right now.” During her summation Big Toby had taken the first shot and got control of solids, systematically putting away a few balls in pockets. He scored one more before speaking.  
“Explain how mad you are and why, make this person stop digging into you.” He missed a shot and Carmilla began sinking stripes. “It sounds like this person wants to be friends, too, so they're not going to rat on you, blackmail you. You just have to both figure out how to move past this breach of trust.” He concluded. Carmilla nodded and thought about what he'd advised as she continued shooting. She'd pretty much figured it out herself, but the large man was outside the situation, a better thinker than most gave him credit for, and a good sounding board. 

“Hey, Big Toby, this your _comare_?” A man asked as he walked over, clapping him on the shoulder. Carmilla restrained herself from using the pool cue as a baseball bat and the man’s head as a ball, instead holding the cue sideways against his neck and backing him to the wall.  
“I'm not anyone's _comare_ , and if you want the ability to still have a _comare_ of your own, I recommend not speaking to me. Ever again.” She snarled.  
“Woah, hey!” The man protested. “Get off me! Get her off me!” He tried futilely to shove her away.  
“Karny, take it easy," Big Toby tried to calm her, "he’s not even _soldati_ yet, he’s a _cugine_ like you.”   
“Doesn't mean he doesn't show respect.” Carmilla responded.  
“You're lucky you're a stand-up gal, I’ll take care of him.” Big Toby forced Carmilla back and lead the man out of the bar. A few minutes later he returned alone.

“I understand you're stressed about this situation, Karny, but you can't do that sort of thing, not in here at least.” He counseled quietly.  
“Sorry. Thanks for keeping me from doing something I might regret.” She sighed, taking off her trilby to run a hand through her hair.  
“Don't worry about it, you're good people. Let's play.” He gestured to the pool table and they continued their game. Eventually he won and she thanked him for the game and talk, shaking his hand. Carmilla spent the rest of Friday night and most of Saturday and Sunday nights writing.

“Carmilla, Danny's here. Are you talking to me yet?” Laura asked as the university students entered her house Monday afternoon.  
“Yes. In fact we need to discuss what happened Thursday at some point.” Carmilla put her book down.  
“Okay.” Laura took a deep breath as her heartbeat picked up. “Danny, cool to get started without me?”  
“Yeah, whatever you need.”  
“Be back in five minutes.” Laura shot Carmilla a small nervous smile. The vampire listened to her kick her tennis shoes off in her room and put things on a plate in the kitchen.  
“This is not a peace offering, it's a snack offering.” Laura stated as she set a plate of creampuffs between them on the sofa. Carmilla popped one in her mouth. “Can I just start with how sorry I am?”  
“I know you're sorry.” Carmilla replied evenly. “Do you understand why I'm so upset?”  
“You told me not to research you and I didn't listen.”  
“In addition to trying to sneak out and drinking from my cup.”  
“Yeah.” Laura stared at her lap.  
“I know I’ve done things that you don't like, for example interrogating your friend.”  
“Yeah.”  
“So maybe we should spell out some ground rules.”  
“Okay.” Laura replied, looking at her hesitant but curious. Carmilla pulled out the paper that she'd written and rewritten that weekend and handed it to Laura. “This looks like a contract.” The young woman stated.  
“Yup. Feel free to take your time editing it how you see fit.”  
“Okay. After my homework.” She grabbed a few of the creampuffs off the plate and headed to her room, Carmilla picked her book back up. Mr. Hollis arrived before dinner, before Danny left, and Carmilla quietly took her leave.

Laura handed the paper back to Carmilla Tuesday afternoon when she got home from school, Carmilla stuck it in her book to save her place, to read it later without Laura watching.  
“Could I ask you something?” Laura clasped her hands in front of her legs.  
“Sure.”  
“Those words you called Kirsch, what do they mean?”  
“I suppose since I used them in front of you I kind of have to give you the translations. You're going to have to remind me which words I used.” Carmilla smiled.  
“Um, zow-trot-uhh?” Laura sat on the sofa, excited.  
“It means an especially stupid person, a fucking idiot.” Laura's cheeks tinted with embarrassment and Carmilla chuckled.  “C’mon, Cutie, it's almost the 40’s.” Carmilla lightly elbowed her. “You can cuss when your dad isn't around.”  
“I know.” She mumbled. “What about uh, craw-huh.”  
“That's along the same lines, but more like a sexist, a chauvinist, someone who doesn't think much of women. I think a similar English word would be ‘douchebag’.”  
“What was that thing you said to me? While pacing? Howdy something?”  
“Yeah, it means uh, it's close to ‘fuck off’ or ‘leave me the fuck alone’." Carmilla tucked her hair behind her ear. "You remembered all that Austrian for five days?”  
“I just kept repeating it in my head, ‘cause it was the only Austrian I’d ever heard, and I figured it was curse words.” Laura shrugged. Carmilla chuckled.

The young women passed their paper back and forth over the next couple of days, revising, not talking much (though on one afternoon Laura insisted on learning Carmilla's address). On Friday Laura brought two typed sheets from school, they’d formed a set of ground rules they could both agree to.  
“I figured I’d make it like a real contract, we’ll both sign both papers and each keep one.” Laura explained. Carmilla raised an eyebrow. “Humor me.” She did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation of Mafia Terms:  
> Comare- a girlfriend in addition to a man's first girlfriend or wife, a woman on the side.  
> Soldati- the lowest members of the Mafia that are considered part of the mob.  
> Cugine- a person trying to join the mob.


	8. Laura's Journalism Project

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that LaFontaine will be misgendered in this fic (especially this chapter), since nonbinary genders weren't really talked about in the late 1930's NYC. You're welcome to send me a message at dolphin64575@yahoo.com if you want to talk about this.

Carmilla woke at 10 am Saturday to knocking on her door.  
“What?” She asked, yanking it open, not bothering to hide her rumpled clothes from Friday evening.  
“There’s a Mr. Hollis on the telephone for you.” Her landlady informed her. “He seemed stressed.”  
“He is.” She replied, walking as fast as she dared to get to the shared telephone. “Mr. Hollis, what do you need?”  
“Thank you for answering, Carmilla. Something came up, do you think you could possibly keep an eye on Laura today? I’ll pay you half again your regular rate.”  
“Give me a moment to think. Please.” Carmilla requested as politely as she could before she held the mouthpiece to her shoulder. She sighed heavily and returned the handset to her head. “I’ll be there in an hour.” 

Carmilla got changed, filled her Thermos with blood, grabbed a book, her trilby, and sunglasses, and set out. She stopped along the way to get a coffee. At the Hollis’ she rang the doorbell, the door was answered by Mr. Hollis, who quickly and fervently thanked her before getting in his car and leaving.  
“Laura?” Carmilla called, entering. She found a curly-haired ginger woman and a shorter ginger in trousers with her hair pinned up in ringlets on top of her head in the living room across from Laura. “Are all your friends gingers?” She asked the girl.  
“Hey, Carmilla, thanks for coming by. You're my friend and you're a brunette, so no. Why do you have 2 cups?”  
“I’m going to use one of your mugs.” Carmilla stated, going to the kitchen. She set her cups on the counter and closed and locked the front door before returning to the kitchen.  
“What are you doing?” Laura asked, coming up behind her. Carmilla decided to be honest.  
“Mixing my nutrition drink and coffee because I got about 3 hours of sleep and I’m no good to you if I’m passed out.” She moved her sunglasses to the brim of her trilby.  
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, did you want to take a nap?”  
“I’m no good to you if I’m passed out, Sweetheart.” Carmilla repeated. “To put it another way, you’re my responsibility.”  
“My _safety_ is your responsibility, and I’m 19 years old. I can wake you up on the off-chance someone comes to the door.”  
“Not taking that risk, Buttercup.”  
“There’s nothing I can do or say to convince you, is there?” Laura sighed.  
“Nope. Already started drinking coffee.”  
“Why did you get so little sleep?”  
“Aren’t you supposed to be interviewing gingers 1 and 2, Young Miss Bly?”  
“Did you want to come meet them?”  
“Not really, but I suppose it’ll help me stay awake.”  
“Please try to be nice. Or at least not rude; these are my neighbors.”  
“If I must.”  
“You signed the contract.” Laura smiled. 

“This is Miss Perry, she makes the dinners for me for when Papa works late.” The curly-haired one smiled and extended a hand, which Carmilla didn’t take. “And this is her best friend LaFontaine, who prefers to be known by her surname only.” The one with trousers and pinned-up hair smiled and nodded. “This is Carmilla. Mostly she reads.” Carmilla raised a hand in greeting before pulling in a chair from the dining room and sitting in it, pulling her book out. She pretended to read as LaFontaine talked about her job as a chemist designing and testing different types of bombs for the army, and Laura took notes. Eventually Carmilla’s mug ran dry and she got up to make more, peering out the front window. She hadn’t heard anything, but wanted to be certain.  
“All good?” Laura asked, trying to be casual.  
“All good.” Carmilla assured. She refilled her mug with the rest of her blood and coffee and returned to her fake reading. The loose-haired ginger was just sitting there, listening to her friend. 

“It's about noon, did you want to break for lunch?” Laura asked LaFontaine.  
“Sure.” She shrugged. “We’ll be back in an hour?” She glanced at the other ginger.  
“Of course. Do you girls have food for lunch? You could come over to our house for lunch and to finish the interview.” Miss Perry offered.  
“We're good, thanks.” Carmilla cut in, looking up from her book with a smile. Laura glanced at her in confusion for a half-second before agreeing. 

“Okay,” Laura turned to Carmilla as soon as the gingers left, “what was that about? That’s the woman who makes the meals I heat up for dinner.”  
“I know, but I’d rather not go into unfamiliar territory unnecessarily.”  
“You sound like you're in the army.” Laura commented, tipping her head to the side.  
“Protection, remember?” Carmilla pointed at herself. “Please tell me there actually is food for you for lunch.”  
“Yeah. You're not eating?”  
“I have my nutrition drink and coffee.” She raised her mug. Laura pulled a disgusted face. Carmilla drained the mug and moved to the sofa to read more comfortably. 

 

\--

 

Carmilla woke hours later at dusk, disoriented, to hear soft talking coming from the dining room. After a few seconds she identified the voices as Laura and LaFontaine. She ran a hand through her hair and headed to the dining room.  
“Morning.” She stated sarcastically.  
“It's 5 pm.” Laura replied evenly. “You really needed a nap.”  
“I told you I don't want to sleep when I'm supposed to be keeping an eye out for you.”  
“Nothing happened, we can discuss this later.” Laura turned back to the gingers. Carmilla rinsed her mug in the kitchen sink and returned to reading on the sofa. There wasn't much chance of her falling back to sleep, not after napping for close to 5 hours and with night coming on. She was surprised she'd been able to fall asleep in the first place, she didn't drink coffee much, but her vampiric circadian rhythm must trump the effects of caffeine. She peered out the window with each car that passed through the drizzling rain.  
“Stepping out for a smoke.” She announced. She smoked 2 cigarettes to pass the time before going back inside. She read for a few minutes before checking on the interview. Everything sounded perfectly fine, but she needed something to do. 

“It's all good.” Laura assured as Carmilla walked up. “You good?” She glanced at the black-clad young woman. Carmilla shrugged, arms crossed.   
“You're probably feeling the caffeine.” LaFontaine informed her. “If you're not used to it it can cause irritability and feeling an inability to sit still.”   
“What makes you think I'm not used to coffee?” Carmilla retorted.   
“You usually arrive in the early afternoon, today in the late morning you said you only got a few hours sleep, and you seem to be feeling an inability to sit still.” She listed with a smile.  
“Aren't you at work in the early afternoons?” Carmilla asked pointedly.   
“Yes, but Lola’s home and keeps an eye on things, especially after we learned that Laura's home alone most afternoons.”  
“Lola’s Miss Perry's first name.” Laura supplied.  
“I figured.” Carmilla replied scathingly.  
“You're so grumpy.” Laura frowned.  
“I just woke up from an unintentional nap.”  
“Well, I'm working on my journalism project, and I‘m not doing it on you, so please go be grumpy somewhere else.”  
“Fine; I’ll go have another smoke.”  
“I think it's raining.”  
“I'm a very determined smoker.” With pyrokinesis.  
“Do you mind if I join you?” Lola Perry asked.  
“It's a free country.” Carmilla shrugged. 

“We're so glad there's someone else around here in the afternoons.” Lola stated once they'd closed the front door. She was sharing her umbrella, so Carmilla couldn't politely get away from her chatter. “I’d be so worried about Laura getting hurt and not being able to get help.”   
“She does have a telephone.” Carmilla reminded the woman.  
“I know. I was thinking more along the lines of a bump to the head and she's unable to use the telephone because she's passed out. Susan tells me I worry too much, but I can't help it.” Carmilla assumed Susan was LaFontaine’s first name. She'd hate to see Lola Perry without the calming effect of cigarettes. “But I'm so glad you're here.” Carmilla nodded. She knew the story for Laura was that she had been hired from a private protection firm, but had no idea what she should say to neighbors. Luckily Lola, like Laura, seemed content to keep talking with little to no feedback on Carmilla's part. Unlike with Laura, Carmilla found the constant chatter annoying instead of endearing and impossible to ignore if she wanted to. Usually having a cigarette calmed her, but her current company wasn't helping her mood any. She wished she was able to take a walk, but to do so without Laura would leave the girl exposed.  
“No offense, Red, but I’d like to just listen to the rain.” Carmilla interrupted.  
“Oh, sorry, of course.” They each smoked 2 cigarettes, but Carmilla was unable to calm down. She wasn't as irritable as when she just woke, but still felt the need to be moving, and a persistent annoyance toward everyone and everything. She wasn't sure if this annoyance was due to the caffeine or the woman beside her. After 2 cigarettes the ladies went back inside, a few minutes later Laura announced that she thought she had enough information for her project, and if not they could always talk further some other time. 

“Any idea when your dad’s getting home?”   
“No.” Laura shook her head. “He didn't know how long the bank would need him, and hasn't phoned.”  
“You understand why I'm upset you allowed me to nap?”  
“You have issues giving up control? I'm joshing. You worry something will happen to me while you're asleep, but nothing happened, and if something out of the ordinary did happen, I would have woken you. Do you usually sleep in the daytime?” Laura asked. Carmilla shrugged. “Okay, well, I don't have any homework, what do you want to do until Papa gets home?”  
“I’d suggest going to the movie theater, watching a scary movie that has you snuggling into my shoulder,” Carmilla trailed off with a smirk, “but that might freak your dad out if he calls and no-one answers.”  
“I have a deck of cards?” Laura offered, face red.  
“Sure.” Carmilla took off her shoes by the front door to more comfortably sit on the living room floor. 

Laura returned from her bedroom in pajamas with a decorated set of playing cards, turning the radio on quietly as she passed it. “Alright, Cutie, do you know how to play Craps?”   
“No, but I’m willing to learn.” She grinned. “Let the moral corruption begin.”  
“I already taught you some Austrian curse words.” Carmilla reminded her with a small smile.   
“Let the moral corruption continue.” Laura amended with a chuckle. Mr. Hollis got home about an hour later and didn't seem upset about Carmilla teaching Laura card games, only stipulated that no gambling was to take place. Carmilla declined dinner and left. 

Carmilla fell asleep early Sunday morning, before the sky even began to lighten, and slept heavily through the day, waking after dusk. 

She was glad to be able to sleep until early afternoon at least on Monday, and had no quarrels with Laura or Danny. Mr. Hollis informed her that the leads they had as to who wrote the letter didn't pan out. The deadline for the money was looming in just over a week, but Laura didn't know about that and was to be kept unaware if at all possible. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How I imagine LaF's hair: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/07/16/23/0A57BD0F00000514-3164180-image-a-17_1437086350357.jpg


	9. Car Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for q-slur (not used to mean LGBTQIAP+).

“ _Scheiße_.” Carmilla swore as she found her tires slashed Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Hollis still had a week before the money was due. “ _Scheiße, scheiße, scheiße_.” She went to use the telephone, ringing the operator. “Hello, I'm trying to call NYU.” She waited as she was connected. “Hello, I need to get a message to a student. Her last name is Hollis, first name Laura.” Carmilla held her free hand to her forehead. “I understand that you're not a messenger, but perhaps you could find someone else to take the message? She may be in danger... No, I don't want to talk to Campus Police. I need to get a message to Laura Hollis…” She tried to remain calm. “I mean I don't know if she's in danger right now or not... It's confidential… Look, lady, her father received a letter threatening her, he hired me to protect her, and my tires got slashed last night! That's what I mean when I say ‘Laura Hollis may be in danger’! So unless you want the death of a 19 year old girl on your hands, I suggest finding pen and paper and Laura Hollis’ class schedule!” Carmilla snapped. “The message is: ‘Will be late. Stay with Danny.’ My name is Carmilla Karnstein… Thank you.” She slammed the handset into the cradle, then picked it up again to order a taxi. 

Carmilla's eyebrows rose as a burgundy car stopped in front of her outside the lodging house, Danny and Laura waving from the front seats. Carmilla got in and Danny pulled away.  
“Okay, before you get mad, let me explain.” Laura rushed, heartbeat a tiny bit quick. “You said stay with Danny, and Papa’s been acting weird lately, so I figured maybe something happened to you, and one of the rules for if you think you're being followed is to change up your routine, so I convinced Danny to stop by your place to see if you were okay.”  
“What happened? The redhead asked.  
“My tires were slashed.” Carmilla shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. “Probably just some vandal kids.”  
“What are you going to do?”  
“I’ll have to get it towed or something.” She sighed. She could probably get Big Toby and some other muscle to help her replace the tires herself, but it'd still be expensive.  
“Maybe you should spend the night in the guest room while your car gets fixed.” Laura turned around in her seat. “I could lend you pajamas and stuff.”  
“No dice, Cupcake, I only have enough nutrition drink for today.” Carmilla raised her Thermos.  
“So you’ll eat some regular food. You must miss it, your drink tastes like blood.”  
“I already explained that.” Carmilla reminded her in a warning tone.  
“What if I went back to your place and you packed a bag?” Danny asked. “You could get your pajamas, clothes for tomorrow, your drink, even call and have someone get your car.”  
“Fine.” Carmilla sighed. Danny pulled a K-turn and they headed back to Carmilla’s. “Okay, when we get there,” she paused to consider, “it's probably safer for you to come inside.” She sighed. 

“This is my room.” Carmilla announced dully as she opened the door.   
“Miss Perry would hate this mess.” Laura observed.  
“Good thing she's not here then.” Carmilla grabbed a bag and some clothes, going to her refrigerator. Two simple knots turned a long-sleeved black blouse into a serviceable purse, Carmilla quickly stuffed 3 blood bottles in it and hid it in her clothes bag, wincing internally as the glass clinked. She wished the blood bottles weren't so clearly _blood_ , but there wasn't much she could do about it right then. “Right. I need to make a few calls, stay here, lock the door behind me, don't open the door for anyone but me. And don't touch anything.” She glared at the students before leaving.  
“Do you think she has a gun hidden in this mess?” Laura whispered as she walked away. She sighed. 

“Yeah, it's Carmilla with garbage disposal, is Big Toby there?... Yeah, put him on… Hey Big Toby, it’s Karny, you got a job tonight?... Willing to get a buddy or two to give me a hand? My tires got slashed… Well that would be fantastic... Alright, I'll meet you at the bar where we first met. Hey, I also need to get a message to Mr. Hollis... Thanks Big Toby. Tell him about my tires and let him know I’ll be using his guest room tonight… Thanks. See you tonight.” She hung up and returned to her room, knocking. “It's Carmilla.” She heard the lock and then the door opened.   
“Your car’s going to get fixed?” Laura asked, heart beating a little quickly as Carmilla entered.  
“Yup.” She grabbed her bag, stuffing a few books in it. “Let's go.” 

“I may need to go out this evening to check on my car; Danny, would you be alright with keeping Laura company if that happens?”  
“Sure. Heck, we both have school projects to work on, I’ll ask my parents if I can stay at your place tonight, you ask your dad?”  
“Sounds like a plan.” Laura grinned. “I’ll phone you when my dad gets home.” 

Carmilla put her bag on the bed in the spare room, carefully setting her blouse-purse in the Hollis’ refrigerator, admonishing the young woman not to touch it.   
“I know, you're a very secretive woman.” Laura replied boredly. “I won't touch your things.” Carmilla still took a piece of paper from the pad by the telephone and wrote a note reading ‘Carmilla’s do not touch’, placing that on the fabric.  
“Not for you, Cutie, for your dad and the giant.” She explained before Laura could protest.  
“Danny’s not a giant.” Laura rolled her eyes. 

They eventually started playing  another round of Craps. Laura still had her beginner’s luck and wanted to start betting her allowance, but Carmilla wouldn't hear of it, worried Mr. Hollis would walk in.   
“You just know I’ll win.” Laura grinned.   
“You totally sussed me out, Young Miss Bly.” Carmilla deadpanned. “Or, if you want to wager something, we could go to your room and I could teach you how to play strip Poker.” She smirked and blatantly looked Laura up and down as the girl’s face reddened, her heart beat hard, and she stammered that Craps in the living room was fine. 

Mr. Hollis got home early and Laura informed him of what was going on with guests, he allowed Danny to sleep over but said that sleeping arrangements would be strained. Laura happily called her friend.   
“I’ll be going out to check on my car later. Some friends of ours are giving me a hand with it.” Carmilla murmured to Mr. Hollis while Laura was on the phone.  
“Would you like a ride?”  
“Please. The girls should be alright alone for a few minutes.” 

The evening passed well, the students worked on their school projects and Carmilla read while Mr. Hollis cooked. Carmilla ate some, explaining off her lack of appetite with her nutrition drink. After dinner Mr. Hollis drove Carmilla to her lodging house. She assured him that everything was taken care of and he should return home. She then put the car in neutral and began to push, fending off offers to help. 

She reached the bar to find Big Toby and some other guys hanging around near a stack of tires.   
“Thanks.” She shook her friend's hand. “What do I owe you?”  
“Don't worry about it, _borgata_ is paying.”  
“Why? I'm not _soldati_.”  
“You're _cugine_ , this happened because of a job; don't question it.” He advised with a smile.  
“Alright, well, I don't know how to change a tire, so I’ll help lift.” She could probably lift the entire car herself, but had to stick to what humans could do.  
“You and I will be the jack, Joe and Rob will change the tires. We’ll have to lift pretty high and hold for a while.”  
“Just tell me what to do.” 

Carmilla had already removed her blouse and now took off her blazer to expose her waistcoat, threw it on the driver’s seat, and did as Big Toby told her; where to grip, how high to lift. Eventually they got all 4 tires changed and Joe and Rob looked impressed as she shook their hands.  
“Didn’t think you’d have it in you, to be honest.” One commented. “I knew you were strong, but most dames don’t want to get their hands all greasy.”  
“I told you she’s _cugine_.” Big Toby added. “Don’t you know how we found her?”  
“No.” Joe and Rob replied.  
“I beat him in a fight.” Carmilla added nonchalantly. “Sprained his knee, broke his foot.”  
“How bad were you hurt?”  
“Had ringing in my ears and blurry vision for a few hours.”  
“That was after we found you.” Big Toby smiled. “Remember a few years back when those people we didn’t like turned up dead with their guns piled together? That was this one trying to get our attention.” He mussed Carmilla’s hair.  
“Hey, now I have to wash my hair!” She chastised. “Thank you again for the help.” She smiled as he passed her a handkerchief to wipe down her hands and try to wipe her hair. “Thank you, too, fellas.” She smiled at Joe and Rob before getting in her car and driving back to the Hollis’. 

Carmilla rang the doorbell, Mr. Hollis answered.  
“Hey, you’re back, we need to figure out who’s sleeping where.” Laura poked her head out of her room.  
“Red can take the guest bed, I don’t sleep much at night.”  
“Are you sure?” Danny asked. Carmilla shrugged.  
“You’re so queer.” Laura stated.  
“Astute observational skills, Cutie. I’m going to take a quick shower.”  
“Do you want to borrow some of my pajamas, or did you bring your own?”  
“I don’t wear pajamas.” Carmilla waited as Laura squinted at her in confusion.  
“You’re so queer.” She repeated.  
“So you’ve said, Young Miss Bly. Now I really must shower.” 

Carmilla moved her bag from the guest bed to the dresser, grabbing her books and bringing them to the sofa. She heard Mr. Hollis remind the students not to be up too late and wish them good night before nodding at her. About an hour later Danny went to the guest room and the house was dark, save the table lamp Carmilla was reading by. She spent the night drinking blood and reading with the occasional smoke break. 

She declined coffee when Mr. Hollis rose, she was just starting to get drowsy.  
“Laura.” She stopped the girl before she left for school. “I’ll probably be napping when you get home. Wake me up. I don’t care if nothing’s going on, wake me up and then I will decide if I want to go back to sleep or not.” Carmilla didn’t want a repeat of Saturday, didn’t want to be asleep on the job, especially this week, especially after what had happened to her car.  
“Okay.”  
“I’m not joshing, wake me up when you get home. As soon as you get home.”  
“Okay, Carmilla, I will.” 

Carmilla had to pull her car out of the driveway so the others could leave, a few minutes after that she lay on the guest bed and fell asleep for the day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Austrian Swears:  
> Scheiße- Shit 
> 
> Explanation of Mafia Terms:  
> Garbage disposal/waste management- the Mafia.  
> Friends of ours- other Mafia members.  
> Borgata- the Mafia, the family (one of five) that you're a part of.  
> Soldati- the lowest members of the Mafia that are considered part of the mob.  
> Cugine- a person trying to join the mob.


	10. Carmilla Confronted

Carmilla woke to find her wrists and ankles bound with twine.  
“Okay, Carmilla, we know you’re a vampire, so you might as well ‘fess up!” Laura frowned at her.  
“Cupcake, what the hell?” She grumbled, sitting up and testing her bonds.  
“You’re not getting out of those, Danny’s a Girl Scout.” Carmilla noticed the ginger with a baseball bat, both the humans’ hearts were beating hard. Her temper flared and she reminded herself that if she killed these girls she’d have to go on the run again.  
“You think I’m a vampire?” She made her voice sound sleepy still.  
“We know you’re a vampire! You’re nocturnal and you drink blood!” Carmilla's patience was already wearing thin and she'd just woken up.   
“I already explained my nutri-”   
“No, no, no, no, we looked in your refrigerator in your room and in your shirt here and found bottles of blood from the Red Cross.”  
“You looked in my- of course you did. So I’m anemic.” She sighed.  
“No you’re not, I looked up anemia at the library, drinking blood does not help in any way. And you’re sensitive to sunlight, and you sleep during the day and are awake at night.”  
“That’s your proof? Look, if I were a vampire, would I sit here, tied up, proclaiming my humanity?”  
“Yes, that’s exactly what a vampire would do.” The young women all stared at each other for a few seconds. 

“I would say this breaks our contract, but there’s nothing in there about you attacking me, is there?” She smiled without humor. “Well, congratulations, Creampuff, you caught yourself a vampire. Now what? Your dad’s going to be home in a few hours and wondering either where I am or why I’m tied up unable to protect you.”  
“We’ll deal with that in a few hours.” Danny stated.  
“And stop with the nicknames, your reign of terror and flirting is at an end.” Laura frowned.  
“Flirting?” Danny asked, ignored by the other two.  
“You’ve never protested before.” Carmilla chuckled.  
“Enough. I’ve caught you in 2 big lies in only the 3 weeks I’ve known you.”  
“Quaking in my heels, here, Buttercup.”  
“You’re not wearing heels.” Danny pointed out.  
“Nylons, whatever.” Carmilla huffed. “The point is, I have had plenty of chances to eat you and never have because I’m not a mindless blood-sucking machine.” 

The young women all looked up as the doorbell rang. Carmilla twisted her wrists and broke the twine binding her, quickly yanking and breaking it off her ankles. “Laura, Danny, basement.” She commanded in a low voice, using a little thrall. The students hurried there, not as quiet as Carmilla would like, but hopefully too quiet to be heard outside. 

“Hello?” She looked through the peephole to find 2 guys with a cardboard box.  
“Is this the Hollis residence? We have a package to deliver.”   
“Ohhh, noooo, they just moved out a week or so ago.” She put on a stereotypical bubbly girl voice.  
“Who are you?” One of the guys asked.  
“I’m the realtor. If you like I can sign for the package and make sure it gets to the Hollands.” She heard the locks sliding into place on the basement door. 6, good.   
“Ma’am, we’re really supposed to bring this to the Hollises. Perhaps you could open the door and get us their new address?”  
“Well, I can open the door, but I don’t have an address for them, they left in a real big hurry.” She opened the door, but didn’t allow the men much view inside. “They said that they would contact me, and then when I sell the house I’m supposed to take my commission, and send them the rest of the money to the address they’ll tell me, when they find one. So I can hold onto that box and send it to them when I get an address, and your job is all completed and you can go deliver packages to other people.” She smiled brightly.  
“So who's car is here?”  
“What was that?” _Scheiße_ . Danny's burgundy car was sitting next to her black one in the driveway.  
“There are two cars here. Look, lady, we just need to find the Hollises.” He attempted to shoulder his way into the house but Carmilla held the door in place, her face falling from a bubbly fake smile into a scowl.  
“I don't care, the Hollises aren't here, get lost.” 

The two men rushed her, the force and surprise wrenching the door from her grasp and sending her backwards. They reached into the cardboard box and pulled out revolvers. 6 shots each, 12 total. More than enough to get into the basement. She raised her hands as they levelled the guns at her.  
“Where are the Hollises?”  
“I told you, I don't know, I'm just the realtor.” She snarled.  
“Whose car is out front?”  
“I don't know, probably some, uh, some neighbor.”  
“Mickey, keep an eye on her while I check the rest of the house.” One man left, the other kept his gun trained on Carmilla. She weighed her options. She couldn't let them get into the basement, she had to get rid of them without getting blood on anything, without them shooting anything, and hopefully with them still alive. 

Carmilla sprinted forward, with her super speed she was past the barrel of the gun, in Mickey’s face, twisting the gun out of his grip before he could process what happened. She hit his head with the butt of the gun, he went down and didn't get up. She had made too much noise, though, the other man was returning. 

She grabbed Mickey’s gun and slipped into the coat closet, sticking the gun in the waistband of her skirt at the small of her back, leaving the door open a fraction of an inch. Pressing her face to the crack and using her enhanced hearing, she was able to track the man around the room. He didn't seem too upset to see Mickey out cold on the floor. 

She waited until his back was to the closet before springing, wrapping one arm around his throat and holding it there with her other arm. He fumbled with his gun for a second before pressing it to her head.  
“Let go or I shoot.” He choked. She loosened her hold. “I said let go. That means fully.” He demanded. She wanted to wrench the gun out of his hand, but his finger was on the trigger and she was pretty certain a bullet to her brain would be just as effective as a stake to her heart. She released him, glaring as he turned around to face her, never taking his finger off the trigger, never moving the gun more than an inch away from her head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Austrian Swears:  
> Scheiße- Shit


	11. Cleanup

If she could get half a second of the man distracted, she could take care of him before he could pull the trigger on her. One hit to the back of his neck should take him out with no blood. She should have done that in the first place. She prayed she had hit Mickey hard enough that his brain was still repairing and would continue to do so for a while. His breathing and heart rate were stable at least, she did not want to have to deal with a body in the suburbs with Lola Perry keeping her eyes on everything.   
“Come here.” He grabbed Carmilla's upper arm, pulling her to the basement door. “If you're the realtor, where are the keys to these locks?”   
“I don't have them. Call a locksmith.” She sneered. He pressed the gun to her temple. She listened past the door as well as she could, but it wasn't enough to hear heartbeats or even breaths. She hoped the students were away from the door. “You won't shoot me.” She stated a little louder than normal, hopefully enough to be heard through the door if the girls were listening. “A gunshot would bring the cops, and if you kill me you'll have my body to deal with.”   
“Don't try my patience, lady.” 

Gods, she wished she was behind him. One solid hit to the back of his head, she could see it so clearly in her mind's eye. She blinked and felt his hand, so tight on her bicep, fade away. The hard metal gun barrel pressed to her head faded, too. She was behind him. Huh; apparently she was old enough to teleport. He was just looking at his empty hand when she struck, lowering him to the floor so he wouldn't get a nosebleed or something. She grabbed his gun and stuck it in her waistband with the other one, pulling her blazer over them. 

She knocked on the door.   
“Safe, girls.” She grabbed the telephone. “This is Carmilla Karnstein with a message for Mr. Hollis. There was a situation, everyone’s fine, we need to do some spring cleaning.”   
“Oh my god!” Laura yelled.   
“He's just knocked out.” Carmilla called, before returning to the phone. “Yes, he should go home. Back in a moment.” She dragged the man out of the way. “He's just unconscious, his partner’s in the living room; we should tie them up, can you two handle that?” The girls nodded, Laura looking nervous while Danny was solemn, both their hearts still beating hard. Carmilla returned to the phone. “Back… Yeah, I’ve got 2 guys and a car for spring cleaning, Mr. Hollis should probably bring a few friends… Thanks.” She hung up and helped the students tie the two unconscious men together in the kitchen. 

“So now what?” Danny asked.  
“Laura’s dad is going to bring some people to help. I’ll stay here and keep watch but you should stay out of sight from these guys in case they wake up.”   
“You’re not going to, um, eat them?” Laura asked.   
“That depends, what did you do with my Thermos?” Carmilla frowned.   
“We didn't.” Laura pointed to the refrigerator. Carmilla grabbed her Thermos and took a few big gulps. She hadn't yet had breakfast and teleporting seemed to take a lot out of her. “Red, you're not going to leave her alone with me, are you?” Carmilla didn't bother to wipe off her blood moustache.   
“Nope.” Danny stated, still holding on to the baseball bat. Carmilla found it both laughable and annoying that this toddler thought she could take a vampire in a fight.   
“You should make yourselves scarce, go do homework or whatever, I don't know when they'll wake up.” The students went to Laura's room, Carmilla borrowed a navy blouse from Laura, buttoning that and her own black blouse from the refrigerator over the hitmens’ heads. 

She brought a dining room chair and her book into the kitchen, peeling the labels off her blood bottles and lighting them aflame in the sink, rinsing the ashes down the drain. She could discredit a couple of university students if they told anyone, say the stress got to them, but a Capo not so much, and not with evidence of her vampirism lying about. She quickly finished her Thermos and an additional bottle of blood, hungry and needing energy. The two hitmen were still out, so she refilled her Thermos, rinsed the empty blood bottles, sat down (adjusting the pistols in the back of her skirt) and opened her book. 

She peered out the front window when she heard a couple of cars slow down and recognized Mr. Hollis driving the first car. The hitmen were still out cold. She may have hit them a bit too hard.   
“Laura, your dad’s here, I’m going to step outside to talk to him. Both of you stay out of sight of the kitchen.” She called.   
“Even though they're blindfolded?”   
“Yes.” She hoped the students would listen without her having them under her thrall. 

“2 men incapacitated, unconscious but alive, in the kitchen. They only saw me. The girls are in Laura's room.” She informed Mr. Hollis in a low voice, a few steps from the house.   
“Thank you, Miss Karnstein.”   
“What else do you need me to do?”   
“Does Laura know…?”   
“I kept _omertà_.”   
“Thank you. I’ll need to know what happened in more detail later.”   
“Yes, sir.” She helped put proper black bags over the men's heads, though she didn't hear any evidence of wakefulness, and carry them to separate cars. Mr. Hollis had brought 2 companions in their own car, they each took a hitman and a car and drove away with almost all the evidence of the men having been there. Carmilla hoped she hadn't hit the men so hard they forgot who they worked for or something. Laura and Danny watched silently from a safe distance. 

“Danny, thank you for keeping Laura company, you can go home, now.” Mr. Hollis smiled.   
“If it's okay with you, I’d rather not?” She asked.   
“They're both pretty shaken up.” Carmilla added.   
“Right, of course. Miss Karnstein, can we talk in private?”   
“Of course, sir.” She followed him to the backyard. 

“Okay, tell me what happened.”   
“The doorbell rang, the girls hid downstairs while I went to answer it. The men were pretending to deliver a package, they forced their way inside. I made a mistake in opening the door.”   
“You told them you're…?”   
“A realtor. I said you'd left a week ago, subdued them before telling the girls it was safe. They only saw me, though Miss Lawrence’s car in the driveway did make them suspicious. You may want to have a chat with your neighbors, I don't know what they saw.”   
“Thank you Miss Karnstein, can you think of anything else that could help?”   
“Oh, right.” She pulled the guns from the waistband of her skirt and handed them to Mr. Hollis. “They had these, didn't fire any shots off, neither of the girls saw them, but may have heard about them.”   
“Thank you.” He hid them at the small of his back as well.   
“I'm assuming you still want me here until you learn who those men are working for.”   
“Yes.”   
“Would you like me to stay overnight again so you can find out what they know?”   
“Not tonight, but thank you for the offer. I trust our friends to take care of it. You can go home, Miss Karnstein.”   
“Thank you sir.” She grabbed her few things from around the house, her blood from the refrigerator. 

“Could we have a chat about what happened today?” She asked, leaning on the doorframe to Laura's room. The students sitting on the bed looked at each other for a second before Laura nodded. Danny stood and grabbed her baseball bat from the floor when Carmilla closed the door behind her, the ginger’s heartbeat quick. “Put it down, Red.” Carmilla commanded calmly.   
“Not a chance.” Danny responded tightly. Carmilla shrugged, twisting and wrenching the weapon out of the girl's hands and kicking it under the bed. She pushed the taller woman to land on the bed, holding a hand up to stop her when she looked ready to bounce back up. Laura had moved to the far corner of the bed and was simply staring, heart beating fast, she looked ready to jump in and stop them at any point.   
“That is not a fight you’ll win, weapon or no weapon, so I suggest you get that idea out of your head right now.” Carmilla growled at the ginger. “I came in here to talk.” The girls nodded warily. “I'm going home for now. If you spill any of my secrets - any of them - you’ll regret it. People will ask you what happened today. Make something up for the time between when you got here and when the doorbell rang, let me know, we stick to that story like glue. Understand?” They nodded. “I mean it, do not tell anyone your little theories. They won't believe you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She promised. 

Carmilla got home with some sunlight left, taking a nap to get some sleep while she could. She peeled the labels off all her bottles of blood when she woke at dusk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation of Mafia Terms  
> Spring Cleaning- cleaning up evidence.  
> Omertà- a code of silence. 
> 
> Please forgive the Deus Ex Vampirica if you read it as such.


	12. Danny Just Doesn't Know How to Quit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally planned to title this chapter "In Which Carmilla Barely Keeps Hold of Her Patience" but TheObsessionGirl's comment on Ch11 was too good to pass up.

Carmilla woke from a nightmare the next afternoon, shaky, still feeling a gun barrel pressed to her head. She tried to push the feeling away and focused on her curiosity about what she was going to find at the Hollis’. She doubted Danny would allow Laura and Carmilla to be alone together, but had no idea how she would act after Carmilla's warning. For that matter, she wasn't sure how Laura herself would respond to it. Or to having to tie up unconscious people. 

Carmilla had barely gotten started reading when the telephone rang.   
“Hollis residence.”   
“Carmilla, it's Laura, Danny and I are at the library. We don't know when we’ll be back, so you should probably stay there.”   
“Okay, stay safe.”   
“We will, see you later.”   
“Wait.” Carmilla said before the girl could hang up.   
“Yes?”   
“What's the story for yesterday afternoon?”   
“The three of us were playing Craps.”   
“Got it.”   
“Okay, see you later.”  
“Yeah.” Carmilla hung up. She wanted to nap, but waking to being tied up wasn't something she wanted to repeat, even if it was just twine. And Miss Lawrence would probably bind her better this time. So she read, drank her blood, and smoked until the students showed up at about 4. 

Carmilla glanced out the window as a car slowed down and pulled into the driveway, opening the door for them. 

Danny strode in, holding a sharpened pencil in her fist, raising it like a stake.   
“Alright, Fangface, we need to talk.” She demanded, heart beating quickly. Carmilla yanked the pencil out of her grasp, snapped it in two, and had the ginger by the throat in just over a second.   
“I told you this wasn't a fight you'd win.” Carmilla said in a low voice.   
“I won't let you hurt her.” The taller woman managed, her hands trying to pry Carmilla's away. She was getting too much air; Carmilla tightened her grip slightly.   
“One little problem with your theory, it's my job to keep Laura safe.” She gave the young woman a slight shake to make sure the message got through. “I'm not going to eat her, but if you don't stop attacking me-”  
“No, Carmilla don’t!” Laura interrupted from the front door, eyes wide, heart fast. “Please! Look, Danny's really sorry, and she’s not gonna try to kill you again, right? Danny?” Carmilla looked back to her captive, the ginger’s hands were weakening on hers. “Look, she's nodding, that's a nod.” Laura begged. Carmilla didn't see anything, but she'd gotten her point across, scared them enough that they shouldn't try to threaten her again. She pushed the young woman to the couch where she sat, rubbing her throat and coughing until she could take deep breaths. Laura had rushed over, comforting her friend. Carmilla tried to ignore the snarl of envy in her stomach. 

“Creampuff, your Knight in Shining Gym Shorts is going to need a drink of water. Room-temperature to slightly cool should be best.” Laura looked to Danny, who nodded, before running to the kitchen. “I hope you understand how this works now.” Carmilla warned, too quiet for Laura to hear. “I can't stop you hanging around, and Laura likes you, but you are in no way to threaten me or interfere at all with me protecting the two of you.”   
“The two of us?” The redhead rasped. Carmilla nodded.   
“What are you whispering about?” Laura asked nervously, handing the redhead a glass of water, which she gratefully gulped, holding up a finger.   
“The dead girl has a conscience.” She informed Laura, Carmilla rolled her eyes.  
“Let me guess.” She faced them from a few paces away. “You looked up vampire books at the library.” Laura nodded warily. “Those are full of myths. I'm not a bloodthirsty creature going to bite the first person I see. I clearly have self control.” She pointedly took a sip from her Thermos. “Now, don't you have homework to do or something?” She asked as she sat on the couch, as though she couldn't care less that the woman who had just threatened to murder her, whose life she just held in a single hand, was sitting a few feet away. She picked up her book and opened it, though she listened to the students grab the broken pencil and move to Laura's room. Apparently they didn't know about vampires having enhanced senses because they talked at near-normal volume. 

“Why did you attack her?” Laura hissed. “She's a vampire!”   
“I was just trying to scare her, you know? Protect you.”   
“Except it's Carmilla's job to protect me.”   
“Who's going to protect you from her?”   
“I told you before, multiple times, I'm not worried about her attacking me as long as she has blood in her cup. And I have this under control, we made rules, a contract, unless someone is threatening her, me, or my friends, she’s not allowed to hurt anyone while protecting me. So as long as you don't freaking  attack her with a pencil she’s not allowed to hurt you.” Laura explained.   
“Allowed to.” Danny scoffed before changing tactics. “We could go to the police about her. Once the guys who sent your dad that letter are caught.”   
“Carmilla said it herself, no-one will believe us.”   
“We have proof! She drinks blood from the Red Cross, she's really strong, she's nocturnal, she doesn’t like the sun, we take that information to the police…”   
“She can explain all that away, and I guarantee she no longer has anything that says ‘Red Cross’, now that we played our hand.” Laura sighed. “You didn't believe me that something was up until we found blood in her refrigerator. If we want to go to the police, we need irrefutable proof, photographic evidence.”   
“True. Wait, ‘if’ we go to the police?”   
“Well, I mean, she's not hurting anyone.”  
“You are entirely too sweet.” Carmilla could picture the tiny brunette prickling at the condescension in her friend's tone. 

“Let's go over what we know and compare it to what we got from the library.” Laura changed the topic, Carmilla barely heard a piece of paper rustling. “Super strength, check. Doesn't like garlic, I’m not sure. She doesn't eat much, and the few times she’s eaten Papa’s cooking she left soon after. Nocturnal and blood drinking, obvious check.”   
“Does she have fangs?”   
“I haven't really been thinking to look? The only time I can really see her teeth is when she smiles big, which makes me feel like she’s a big cat stalking me or something.” Carmilla smiled; if only the cutie knew how right she was.   
“Does she have a reflection? Can she use a mirror?”   
“Do you think she looks that stunning without using a mirror?” Carmilla smiled and bit her lips, she thought the cupcake had a crush on her, and here was proof.   
“Okay. Does silver hurt her?”    
“I don’t know and I don’t want to check.”    
“Why not? We can use that against her!”    
“Danny, five minutes ago you couldn’t breathe because you attacked her and she overpowered you without even trying! Do you really want to do that again?”    
“If we had 2 silver necklaces to tie her up with, that might work.”    
“I doubt she’s ever going to be asleep around us again. Look,” Laura lowered her volume but Carmilla could still hear her just fine, “we’ll surveil her, I have some allowance saved up, I need a camera anyway, we’ll see what irrefutable evidence we can get until the guy who sent the letter is caught and she doesn't work for Papa anymore. But please don't attack her anymore, that was really scary.”   
“Okay.”   
“So, you and I will go get a camera after school tomorrow?”   
“We can do it now, it's still pretty early in the evening.”  
“Let's do that.” The students shuffled around in Laura's room for a minute before returning to the living room, Laura with purse in hand, Danny borrowing a scarf to cover the red marks blooming on her neck. 

“Hey Carmilla, Danny and I are going to go out for a little bit, maybe do some shopping.”   
“Want me to accompany?” She lowered her book as she asked, even though she knew the answer; but the humans didn't know that, and she wanted to keep them in the dark about her enhanced hearing.   
“We’ll be fine, thanks for offering.” Laura smiled. Danny glowered.  
“Be safe.” Carmilla raised her book again. 

She was taking a smoke break on the front lawn, book in one hand, cigarette in the other, when the students returned. Laura eagerly showed her her new camera.  
“Congratulations, Young Miss Bly.” She finished her cigarette and followed the teens inside. 

Laura hissed sympathetically when Danny removed the scarf, Carmilla's handprint was purpling; the students went to check the refrigerator for something cold to hold against it and found a pork tenderloin.  
“I can't go home like this, even if I wear a scarf my family's going to notice.” Danny worried, wrapping the meat in a hand towel and holding it to her neck. They all looked at the telephone as it rang, Carmilla held a finger to her lips at the girls as she picked it up.  
“Hollis residence.”  
“Message for Carmilla Karnstein from the Waste Management Company.”  
“Speaking.”  
“Mr. Hollis has to work quite late tonight, asks you to stay overnight, will compensate.”  
“Can do.”  
“Alright, I'll let him know.”  
“Thank you.” Carmilla hung up and turned to Laura. “Your dad has to work really late tonight, I’ll be staying overnight, I don't care if Red stays as well.”  
“Thanks so much.” Danny responded sarcastically. Laura elbowed her but Carmilla completely ignored the comment.  
“I figure it’ll be like last time, the beanpole in the guest room, me on the couch.” She finally turned her gaze to the taller young woman, flicking between the students. “If tomorrow afternoon is like last time, there will be consequences.” She threatened in a growl. They nodded and headed to Laura's room, plotting their cover story for how to get Danny's parents to be okay with her sleeping over again so soon. Eventually they called and headed over to get clothes. 

"Would you like to go to your, uh, place and get stuff for tomorrow?” Laura asked when they returned.  
“Don't answer the door, stay out of sight from the front windows.” She commanded. “Would you like me to call you from the lodging house telephone?”  
“Um.” Laura stopped to think, Carmilla expected her to immediately reject the idea and remind Carmilla that she was 19 years old. “Yeah, that would help me feel better.”  
“Okay.” Carmilla helped bring the telephone as close to Laura's room as the cords would allow, and to shut all the blinds. 

She packed quickly, sticking de-labeled blood bottles into her bag without an additional bag for concealment. A normal human woman wouldn't be overly secretive about a diet drink, right? She stopped at the telephone, dialing the Hollis’ house.   
“Hollis residence, who may I ask is calling?” Laura’s tone was professional.   
“It's Carmilla, I'm coming back now.”  
“Thank you.” Laura sounded relieved, it piqued the vampire's curiosity. She wished telephones were sensitive enough that she could hear heartbeats. 

“It's Carmilla.” She called as she opened the door.  
“Hello. I’m going to make dinner.” Laura stated as she headed to the kitchen. “You don't have to fake and eat some if you don't want to. All three of us know you're, y’know, a vampire.”  
“Thanks, Cutie.” 

The evening went pretty smoothly, similar to the last time Carmilla had stayed overnight. Danny continued to regard Carmilla with suspicion and thinly-veiled hostility, but the brunette ignored her. She had choked the young woman and given her bruises, she expected that sort of response. 


	13. Late-Night Conversations

Eventually night came on and the students went to bed, Laura checking that her father hadn't called. Carmilla scarcely looked up from her book the whole evening, though she kept an ear out. It was late when she heard soft mumbling and cloth against cloth from Laura's room. She hadn't heard any footsteps, windows, or doors, so the girl must be dreaming. She listened around Laura's noises for a few minutes, until the human began shifting much more, her voice getting louder and more intelligible. 

“No, no stop, I don't wanna…” Carmilla put her book down on the couch and slipped to the girl's room. “No, help, stop, help…” Lines creased the human’s forehead and she was tossing around. Carmilla bit her lip, unsure if she should wake the girl. She was having a bad nightmare, but didn't waking people from nightmares give them a heart attack or make them violent or confused or something? Laura tipped off the bed and Carmilla lunged, catching her before she hit the floor. The girl woke with a start, breathing hard, eyes wild.  
“Laura?” The girl’s eyes darted to Carmilla as she gently lifted her back in bed. “Laura, it's okay, it was just a dream.”  
“Right.” She took a few deep breaths. “Th-thanks.” She pulled the blankets back up and curled up beneath them.  
“I’ll, uh, go back to the living room.” Carmilla murmured awkwardly. 

“Hey, Carmilla?” Laura asked a few minutes later, padding into the living room. The vampire looked up from her book. “Any news from my dad?” Her heartbeat was quick.  
“Nothing yet, Buttercup. I'm sure no news is good news.” The girl was clearly nervous, fingers fiddling with the edge of her sleeve as she bit the inside of her lip. Carmilla's gaze seemed drawn to the girl's lips as she spoke softly, hesitantly.  
“Would you, um, I don't really want to go back to sleep yet, you know I had a nightmare, would you be willing to uh, hang out in my room for a bit?”  
“Sure,” Carmilla stood, “but I’m not going to rub your back or anything, I’m not your mom.”  
“I know.” Laura scowled back at her on the walk to her room. “My mom divorced my dad and left when I was really little.”  
“Oh?” Carmilla didn't want to pry, but she was curious.  
“She couldn't deal with my dad's job, the hours and stuff, so they got a divorce and she left.” The girl shrugged. Carmilla guessed it was more the Mafia part of his job the woman couldn't deal with. She wondered how Laura had ended up with her dad if her mom knew about his job. Or perhaps that was just the cover story and Laura’s mom had gotten killed because of her husband’s job or something, there was no way for Carmilla to guess what the reason was. 

Laura shut her bedroom door behind them and Carmilla raised an eyebrow. “I was thinking that since I don't want to go back to sleep and you're nocturnal, maybe we could play cards.” Laura wheedled with a smile, her voice low, heartbeat still faster than normal.  
“What game?” Carmilla smirked, her voice low and sexy, guessing where the teenager was leading.  
“Welllll, I might be open to your earlier suggestion of teaching me strip poker.” There it was. Carmilla could have sworn Laura held her tongue to her upper lip in a sexy way on purpose when drawing out the 'L' in 'well'.   
“Would I be correct in guessing you're not wearing a brassiere under your pajama shirt?” Carmilla asked, smirk still in place.  
“Y-you would. Why?” Laura's ‘sexy’ act dropped and she was the nerdy confused teen Carmilla had come to know and maybe perhaps get a crush on.  
“I just want to make sure we're even.” 

Carmilla began unbuttoning her blouse, watching Laura watch her fingers as her face reddened and heart beat faster. The vampire dropped the garment to the bed and Laura struggled -and failed- to keep her eyes on Carmilla's face.  
“You're not wearing socks, I should probably take my nylons off, too.”  
“Th-that's okay!” Laura burst, a bit loud. “We don't have to play strip poker right now,” she whispered, “if Danny were to come in she'd think you were defiling me of my innocence or something.”  
“So, once Red leaves we can play.” She smirked.  
“Yeah, totally. That means you're still going to be my friend after the guy who sent the letter is caught.”  
“Sounds like it, Cutie. But you know, you don't have to tempt me with your,” she paused to blatantly look the girl up and down, “fine little body to keep me around.”  
“N-no?” Laura's face got even redder. This was too fun.  
“We could just talk. That's what girlfriends do, too.”  
“Yeah. Thanks for coming in here with me. A wrong number called while you were out and it just, I don't know, freaked me out. You not being here.”  
“It's okay to be scared. You're in a scary situation.”  
“Yeah.” She quickly changed the subject. “Um, my dad doesn't know about me, _y’know_ .” She was evidently either not able to find the words or not ready to admit her feelings aloud. “Does your mom know about you?”  
“Yeah. She's not enthused.” Carmilla shrugged and Laura's gaze dropped to her chest again. The vampire chuckled. She didn't even have the girl under her thrall and she could probably convince her to do or say most anything right now, just from her own teenage hormones. 

“Sorry, um, how is your mom funny?” Laura forced her eyes back to Carmilla's.  
“You're what's funny, Cupcake. I think that was a good preview for next time, and I should probably stop distracting you now.” She smirked as she pulled her blouse back on and buttoned it, Laura's face still red even as she apologized again. “Cutie, I wouldn't have been flirting with you this past month if I didn't mean it. I just think talking might be easier if we could look each other in the eye.” She smirked. “I'm joshing.” She assured as Laura's face reddened again and she opened her mouth to apologize for a third time. Carmilla allowed her face and tone to turn serious.  
“My mom knows about me liking girls and she doesn't like it. We haven't spoken in years.”  
“Wow. I'm sorry.”  
“Eh. She's a bitch.” Carmilla shrugged again.  
“Papa always tells me how proud he is that I’m focusing on my studies and not allowing myself to be distracted by boys. I wonder how he’d react if he knew I’m distracted by girls.” 

Carmilla held up a finger and stared into the middle distance as she heard a car approach.  
“What?” Laura whispered. Carmilla glared at her and put her finger to the girl's lips. The car slowed and turned into the driveway.  
“Get under your bed.” She commanded quietly, moving to Laura's door.  
“What's going on?” Laura asked, eyes full of fear. “Should I go down-”  
“Don't know, no time, under the bed.” Carmilla replied tightly, shutting the bedroom door after herself. She crept swiftly towards the front of the house, partially listening past the front door, partially listening past Laura's bedroom door. Red's breathing was still deep and even in the guest room. She heard Laura shuffle under her bed just as the car’s driver reached the front door. A key turned in the lock and she straightened, but remained wary. She didn't know how many spare keys existed. The door opened to reveal a confused Mr. Hollis.  
“Sir.” She greeted, padding back to Laura's room. She opened the door and Laura's breathing stopped, though her heart beat hard. “Laura, your dad’s home.” Her breathing resumed, along with the shuffling. Carmilla sighed, knelt down, grabbed the girl's pajamas, and pulled her out. She squeaked in surprise.  
“Thanks, that was much faster.”  
“Of course.” 

Carmilla returned to the living room as Laura and her father talked at the teen’s bedroom door, he assured her he was fine and she told him Danny was sleeping over. 

“Miss Karnstein.”  
“Sir.” She put her book down and stood, but he gestured her to sit back down and sat next to her; breathing her an update so Laura couldn't hear from her room.  
“They took a few hours to wake up, and interrogation took a while, but we have a name and a place. It should only be a few more days, but the deadline is up on Tuesday and I fear more attempts on my daughter will be made before then.”  
“You’d like me to be more careful?”  
“Please. As I told you before, I have no qualms with you using the guest room, though Danny is currently sleeping there…”  
“I can stay here, I don’t sleep much at night, and Laura still seems to be rather shaken up by what’s happened. Provided I’ll be paid for additional hours.” She added, nearly too late.  
“Of course. Thank you, Miss Karnstein.”  
“You’re welcome, Mr. Hollis.”  
“I’m going to bed, I’ll see you in the morning.”  
“Likewise.” It was weird to wish her boss a good night. 

She waited a minute, then padded to Laura’s room, knocking softly on the door.  
“Yeah?” She still sounded alert, not on the edge of sleep.  
“Can I come in?”  
“Yeah.” Laura was sitting up in bed, Carmilla walked over so she could talk more quietly.  
“I just wanted to let you know that your dad’s getting nervous and has asked me to stay here pretty much all the time until whoever wrote the letter is caught.”  
“I figured he’d do that at some point. Danny won’t be happy when I tell her in the morning.”  
“Red can deal.” Carmilla shrugged when Laura glared at her response. “I’ll let you get back to sleep now.” She headed to the door.  
“G’night, Carmilla.”  
“Night, Creampuff.” She smiled back at the human. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that this story contains phone calls rather often (though not this chapter) and I'm wondering if any readers were born late enough that they were never taught how to answer the home phone, especially before Caller ID.


	14. Investigation

The next morning Carmilla drove home, dropping into bed after sunrise. She was usually already asleep by this point, staying overnight was cutting into her already limited sleep time. The next 5 or so days were going to be hell, but she didn’t want to sleep at the Hollis’ and chance Red tying her up again. Plus, her clothes and blood and books were here. The money was due Tuesday and it was Friday now, and she supposed if commuting every morning and afternoon got to be too much she could bring her alarm clock to the Hollises, share the guest room with the beanpole since she was nocturnal; though that would involve bringing clothes and blood over to the Hollis’. _Scheiße_ , had she left blood in the Hollis’ refrigerator? Oh well, nothing she could do about it now. She’d drink it this afternoon and evening. 

Carmilla groaned as her alarm clock went off; it looked like part of her pay would be going to coffee for the next few days. Laura and Danny went to Laura’s room to do their homework after school, Carmilla keeping an ear out. 

“No, don’t put it there, it’s too visible.” Danny whispered, piquing Carmilla’s attention.  
“Well I have to put it somewhere.”  
“You can’t leave it all in it’s folder?”  
“I can’t sort through it, I can’t see it all at the same time, that’s not how my brain works. I have to put it all up.”  
“Okay, uhh… In your armoire?”  
“Maybe. I don’t know if I have room.”  
“I think you do. Where’s the tape?” It was quiet for a minute or two, save the sound of tape. “You think this was her?” Danny hissed.  
“Yeah, look at the date, that was right after we found out about her being a greenhorn. And the police still have no clues.” Laura responded. Carmilla took a long slow breath, trying to convince herself the little wannabe journalist wasn’t investigating her. She was glad none of the vampire books the humans had found at the library mentioned enhanced senses. “There was a follow-up article today, here.” Carmilla softly heard paper shuffling against paper.  
“2 holes in her neck, bled out though no blood was found at the scene, police still baffled? Laura, this is really bad! She is dangerous!”  
“No, she’s not! I told you, that was right after we found out about her being a greenhorn and maybe Jewish, and she was so upset she swore at me in Austrian. And even though she was so mad at me, she hurt someone else. Which, it’s awful for that woman, but maybe we could tell the police after she’s done protecting me?” Carmilla took another deep breath, fingers tight on her book. She could up and leave if she had to, if the police or Mafia somehow started suspecting she was a vampire. The students still had no real proof. She could easily discredit them. Though Red still had bruises on her neck and was wearing a turtleneck and scarf to hide them. Carmilla would have to keep an eye on the girls, even after this job was up. 

When Mr. Hollis came home and gave her her pay she went back to her place for “dinner”, to have a smoke, grab clothes for Saturday and Sunday, and load a bag with bottles of blood. She’d have to keep them in the Hollis’ refrigerator, or possibly outside, though that wasn’t temperature-controlled. She wound up putting them next to the back door where there was less chance of Mr. Hollis finding them. After dinner the humans started to play cards, and Laura begged and cajoled Carmilla into joining. She really had it bad for this kid, which was such a bad idea for so many reasons. The Hollises got slightly annoyed at Carmilla and Danny's glaring at each other (as well as more obvious aggression), but Mr. Hollis apparently believed it to still be related to their less-than-friendly introduction. Eventually the humans all went to bed and Carmilla took up her post on the couch, keeping her ears trained outside the house. 

Carmilla was just starting to yawn as Mr. Hollis got up.  
“Thank you, Miss Karnstein. I’m going to get breakfast started, you’re welcome to go wake the girls and then use the guest bed.” He smiled.  
“Yes, sir. Thank you.” 

Carmilla went to wake Danny, taking a few seconds to assess her bruising first. It was beginning to green around the edges, though it was still a deep purple where she’d put pressure. It should be gone in a few days, and so would Carmilla. As far as she knew, neither of the girls’ parents had seen it. “C’mon, Red, it’s morning.” She lightly kneed the mattress a few times next to the ginger's shoulders. Danny swung at her blindly, Carmilla caught her wrist and pulled her up to a sitting position, the redhead waking quickly. “I’ll be nice since you’re still asleep,” Carmilla hissed, “but I don’t suggest trying that again.” She nodded, eyes wide, free hand covering her throat. Carmilla dropped her wrist. “I need the bed. I better not wake up to anything out of the ordinary.” She stated as she went to wake Laura. 

“Rise and shine, Cupcake.” Carmilla monotoned as she knocked on the door though it was partially open.   
“What’s going on?” Laura grumbled as she sat up.  
“It’s Saturday morning and I need to go to bed. Your dad’s making breakfast.” Carmilla returned to the vacated guest room, falling on the bed fully clothed. A minute later Danny threw her pajamas on top of the vampire, but she just scowled and pushed them to the floor. The beanpole could be immature if she wanted, they both knew Carmilla had the upper hand and wasn’t afraid to use force if necessary. 

That afternoon Carmilla woke confused. She wasn’t tied up, which was a good thing, but the sun was still up, so she should be asleep. She guessed her body had finally gotten used to waking at this time. She changed into clean clothes and grabbed a bottle of blood from her bag next to the back door, pouring it into her thermos. She turned round at Mr. Hollis’ heavy footsteps behind her.   
“Good, you’re up. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to wake you before I left.”  
“Work?”   
“Yes, unfortunately. I thought it might be better if you had this.” He breathed the last sentence, pressing a revolver into her free hand. She nodded and he held her thermos as she slipped the gun into the back waistband of her skirt, pulling her blazer overtop.   
“We’ll be fine, Mr. Hollis.” She told him confidently. No human could best a vampire. 

The students occupied themselves in Laura’s room for a while as Carmilla drank coffee, then came to Carmilla stating they wanted to go to the library to work on school projects. The drive and library were uneventful, they did work on schoolwork as opposed to researching vampires right in front of the vampire, returning to the Hollis’ to find dinner almost ready. Mr. Hollis surreptitiously passed Carmilla a left-handed shoulder holster for the gun, she went to the bathroom to put it on under her blazer. 

The evening passed and while Carmilla noticed the students keeping a closer eye on her after dinner, she ignored it. She’d confront them about it when Mr. Hollis wasn’t there and she didn’t have to worry as much about hiding her vampirism. 


	15. Annoyingly Overprotective Carmilla

Sunday morning Carmilla woke the teens again, the redhead stopped herself before attacking.  
“Good girl.” Carmilla smiled condescendingly, which made Danny scowl. The vampire woke in the early afternoon again, falling back to sleep when she wasn’t needed, waking again at dusk. 

“Carmilla?” Laura knocked on the door.  
“Be out in a minute, Cupcake.” She said as she buttoned up a clean blouse.  
“Okay. Papa has to go to work again.” The girl sighed. Carmilla didn’t mention that no bank would be open or even doing anything internally on a Sunday evening, she didn’t know if Laura’s naïveté or realism was more dominant in regards to her father’s work. Additionally, she realized she had no idea how Red regarded his odd hours, either. She pulled her blazer on over the gun holster and opened the door.  
“Judging by the smell I’m guessing dinner for you and the beanpole is in the oven.”  
“Yeah. Papa just left and I know you want to be awake when he’s not here.” Laura shrugged and headed to the living room. The students had each spread out their schoolwork on the floor and were taking up almost the whole living room. Carmilla filled her Thermos in the kitchen, then sat back on the couch and opened her book. 

“Garlic doesn’t affect me, by the way.” She stated, looking over her book. The girls looked at her in confusion and she lowered her book to her lap. “I know why you kept looking at me during and after dinner last night. Garlic doesn’t hurt or make me sick or anything; that’s just a myth. And I believe we stated you’re not to investigate me.”  
“Wanting to see if garlic hurts you doesn’t count.” Laura rebutted, crossing her arms. “It’s not like I asked Papa to make food with garlic in it just to watch you.”  
“Just keep it in mind, Buttercup.” Carmilla lifted her book again.  
“Does asking how old you are count as investigating you?”  
“I’m 22.”  
“I mean how old you really are. When were you born?”  
“None of your business, Young Miss Bly.”  
“I meant to ask before: Bly?” Danny added.  
“I told her Nellie Bly’s my favorite journalist and now she calls me that whenever she thinks I’m being investigative or something.” Laura explained.  
“Spot on.” Carmilla turned a page.  
“When did you become a vampire?” Laura tried. Carmilla didn’t answer. “Does going into a church hurt you? Do crosses?”  
“I think you’re interviewing your first brick wall.” Danny commented after a good few seconds of silence. Laura groaned and returned to her schoolwork. 

Carmilla read, drank blood, and took a few smoke breaks over the course of the evening, while the students had dinner, finished homework, played board games, and went to bed (punctuated by Laura asking Carmilla questions, apparently trying to get answers through sheer persistence). Laura begged Carmilla to play with them but relented when Carmilla reminded her that the vampire wasn’t allowed to hurt the beanpole unprovoked and that Laura had gotten annoyed at their growling and aggressive play when they'd played cards before.  
“It’s just a board game.” Laura stated.  
“Tell her that.” The other two responded in synchronization, glaring at each other for a second.  
“Really mature.” Laura huffed. “Fine, enjoy your book.” 

Mr. Hollis still wasn’t back when Laura started moving around and mumbling in her sleep.  
“No… Please… Stop…” Carmilla slowly opened the girl’s bedroom door, finding her kicking off her blankets while she tossed around and talked, a sharp divot between her eyebrows, heartbeat fast.  
“Laura.” Carmilla gently shook her shoulder. “Hey, Laura, wake up. Laura, you’re dreaming.” Laura jerked awake, Carmilla stepped back and gave the girl time to sit up and collect herself. Carmilla cautiously sat on the end of the bed as the human took deep breaths and tucked her hands under her arms to stop the shaking. Carmilla waited until Laura looked her in the eyes to start speaking. She told the girl of a party she’d attended, years ago. She spoke softly, calmly, slowly, and Laura was back to sleep before she’d even finished. 

When Mr. Hollis got home he told her that there was still no headway as to who had sent the letter. She informed him that Laura was having nightmares, to which he just nodded and sighed. 

The next morning Carmilla left along with the Hollises and Red, loading her clothes and bottles of blood into her car. She was glad to be able to fall onto her own bed, drink blood straight from the bottle, and generally not have to worry about any humans. Though she had to remove the gun from the holster to get comfortable, she passed out within a few minutes of laying down. 

Carmilla left the house and locked the door behind her when the redhead pulled in the driveway, going to talk to the driver first.   
“I’m assuming you’re not leaving the two of us alone together in case I decide to stop protecting the cupcake and attack her?” Carmilla asked Danny, not lowering her sunglasses.  
“Yup.” Danny adjusted her scarf in the rearview mirror.  
“Alright.” She got in the backseat. “Welcome to annoyingly overprotective Carmilla. We need to go somewhere that’s not here or the library. You might not be doing homework tonight.”  
“We can sit in the elementary school parking lot for a while.” Danny replied as she backed out of the driveway.  
“Why can’t we be here, what’s going on?” Laura turned round, kneeling in her seat.  
“Hopefully nothing.”  
“Come on, Carmilla, pretty much my entire life is full of people being overprotective towards me, my dad, Danny, Kirsch, you.” Laura was facing the wrong way to see Danny’s hands tightening on the wheel at her name. “Tell me the truth, what’s going on?”  
“That is the truth. It’s my job to keep you safe and this is me doing my job. Hopefully, nothing’s happening, but just in case...”  
“Yeah but why are you getting more annoying and protective? Did my dad give you a warning or tip or something?”  
“Why would your dad know that?” Carmilla asked evenly. Laura snorted.  
“He’s obviously not a banker. His hours, his pay, the fact my mom divorced him over his job, when I call him at work they never say who they are, just ask who I am and whom I’m calling for, his incredible overprotective-ness, now this threatening letter? I’m pretty sure he’s in a secret part of the police or something.” She stated. Carmilla looked out the window and took a deep breath.  
“I can neither confirm nor deny your suspicions.” 

They heard police sirens behind them and Danny pulled to the side of the road. The police car stopped behind them, Danny’s heartbeat quickening.  
“Scheiße _._ ” Carmilla muttered, slowly reaching a hand under her blazer as she peeked out the rear window to see what was going on. The police officer headed to the passenger side of the car, both humans’ hearts beating fast. “Danny, be prepared to punch it. Both of you stay calm and act normal.” Carmilla commanded, lips barely moving. She didn’t bother putting them under her thrall. Laura rolled the window down a few inches when the man was almost there. Carmilla had her gun barely in it’s holster, keeping her gaze on the officer’s hands.  
“Hello.” Laura sounded nervous.  
“Afternoon, ladies. Miss, do you know why I stopped you?” He addressed Laura, who shook her head. “You really ought to be sitting facing the windshield, and wearing a seatbelt can’t hurt, alright?”  
“Alright.” Laura dutifully faced front and buckled.  
“You girls have a good afternoon.” He smiled. “Be safe.” Carmilla didn’t take her hand off the gun until he was back in his car.  
“Let a few cars pass us first, I don’t want to be directly in front of or behind him.” She told Danny, who nodded. 

The trio watched the young children on the elementary school playground for a while, the students attempting to do homework in such a confined space, until Danny’s patience apparently reached it’s peak.  
“You think I’m overprotective?” She asked quietly.  
“Well, yeah. You are.” Laura responded at the same volume.   
“I’m your friend, Laura, I care about you.”  
“Yeah, but there’s a difference between being my friend and wanting me to be safe, and sleeping over at my house every night ‘just in case’ the woman whose literal job it is to keep me safe decides to hurt me.”  
“I just-”  
“I already have a dad, Danny. But I could really use a friend.” The redhead just sighed and put her schoolwork away. After tossing her bag into the backseat (Carmilla ignored it hitting her) she pulled away from the elementary school and parked in the parking lot for a big department store. 

“So what time do you think it’s safe to go back?” She looked at Carmilla in the rearview mirror.  
“Not for a few more hours at least.” She replied. Laura groaned at that, Danny stated she had to use the bathroom and stretch her legs, so they all headed in the store. 

They passed the rest of the afternoon and early evening wandering around public areas and doing homework in Danny’s car, not talking about anything important, though Carmilla’s arms were nearly perpetually crossed, hand under her blazer. She tried to stay downwind as she smoked, though Laura didn’t appear to notice, or if she did, she didn’t care. When they returned to the Hollis’ Carmilla peered out the window with every car that slowed as it neared.  
  
Carmilla was more vigilant than usual that night, taking smoke breaks more often to listen outside without the interference of doors and walls (and taking a few minutes to look at the stars). Luckily nothing happened, Laura didn’t even have a nightmare, which Carmilla was slightly expecting after the afternoon she’d been thrown into. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware seatbelts were rare in the 40's, but I needed a reason for the cop to pull them over. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, please consider taking a few minutes to leave a comment. They really do make my day.


	16. Evasive Action

Carmilla gladly fell into bed Tuesday morning. The money was due today, and as far as she knew neither Mr. Hollis nor _borgata_ were paying. So today and tomorrow were the most likely days for an attack on Laura to happen and she needed to be as well-rested as she could. She’d instructed Danny to change up the route she drove to and from school. It may make the girls more nervous, and the ginger couldn’t get rid of a stupid college boy tailing them so Carmilla didn’t have much faith it would do much, but she’d take every advantage she could.

When Carmilla arrived at the Hollis’ that afternoon she found some money from Mr. Hollis and a note indicating the trio should spend it keeping themselves entertained this evening; she tucked it in her purse.

“We’re going to Miss Perry and LaFontaine’s.” Laura told her when she got in Red’s car.   
“In that case, we’re walking.”  
“Carmilla, it’s November, it's too cold out.” Laura frowned at her.  
“It can’t be more than a few miles, and our cars are known. I warned you yesterday I was going to get even more annoying.” The students groaned and grumbled, but Laura led the way to the ginger duo’s house. “Will she even be there?” Carmilla asked.  
“I called and asked her to try to leave work early. If not, Miss Perry’s there.” 

They were both there, Danny started doing homework while Laura and LaFontaine chatted, Laura taking notes. Carmilla stood near the front window.  
“Can I interest anyone in a snack? I can make brownies.” Lola Perry offered.  
“Yes, please, that would be really nice.” Laura smiled.  
“You know…” Danny trailed off.  
“What?” Laura asked.  
“Nevermind, it’s nothing.”  
“No, what?” Laura persisted.  
“Eating sweets all the time can’t be good for you.” Danny mumbled. She spoke so quietly Carmilla was kind of surprised Laura caught it.  
“I know, but they taste so good.” Laura groaned with an audible grin. Carmilla glanced over to see the students smiling at each other. 

“Do you know if you’ll be staying for dinner? I don’t mind, I just need to know how many to plan for.” Lola Perry smiled at them.  
“Um…” Laura looked to Carmilla.  
“If you’d have us that late I’d really appreciate it.” Carmilla smiled gratefully. “But you don’t need to worry about feeding me, I don’t have much of an appetite.”  
“Are you sure? It’s no trouble.”  
“I have this nutrition drink, keeps me pretty much satisfied.” She raised her Thermos.  
“Really?” Lola Perry asked, interested.  
“I wouldn’t recommend it if you don’t have a strong stomach, though. Would you, Cutie?” She smiled at Laura, who ducked her head, blushing. “Laura found out firsthand it doesn’t have the best taste.” She chuckled. “To answer your original question, if you’d have the students for dinner we’d really appreciate it, and don’t worry about me.”  
“I’ll go get started then.” The ringlet-haired woman smiled.  
  
Carmilla remained at the front window, near motionless, for much of the afternoon. She did accept a brownie when Miss Perry offered, and warned her that they’d probably be leaving right after dinner.  
“We’ll stop intruding soon, don’t want to wear out our welcome.”  
“No, you’re not intruding at all. Laura called ahead, we know the situation, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” Miss Perry protested.  
“Perr lives to entertain.” LaFontaine added with a smile.  
“Thank you, but really, I’d rather not stay too long.”  
“Alright, I’ll do my best not to keep you too late.” She smiled. 

“I’ve heard of people ‘turning on the charm’ before, but you with Miss Perry, it was like flicking a lightswitch.” Laura observed as they walked back to the Hollis’.  
“Acting.” Carmilla shrugged.  
“You’ve never acted like that before.” Danny stated.  
“I haven’t acted like that to you because you tied me up while I was sleeping.” Carmilla stuck a cigarette between her lips, falling a few steps behind to light it and keep the smoke away from Laura, who turned to continue the conversation, gaze on Carmilla's mouth.  
“So why didn’t you want to stay there?” Laura asked.  
“Your dad is working late and left some money for the three of us to go out this evening. I was thinking we could catch a movie.” She wasn't technically lying, and figured it was better not to worry the students, especially since the worry may be unnecessary.   
“I think one of the theaters nearby is playing The Wizard of Oz again, I could check the paper when we get home?” Laura offered.  
“Sounds good.” Danny commented.   
“That works.” Carmilla shrugged. When they got back the students checked the showing times in the daily paper and the trio headed out, Carmilla driving them in her own car. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation of Mafia terms:  
> Borgata- the Mafia, the family (one of five) that you're a part of. 
> 
> Please excuse the shortness of this chapter, I'm in the second-to-last week of classes and I'm swamped with projects and tests and I promise next week's chapter will make up for it.


	17. Lights, Camera, ACTION!

When they got to the theater Carmilla paid for the tickets and popcorn, and the trio waited for the next showing. Carmilla kept an eye on anyone who approached them, wary even though they were in public. She’d feel better when they were hidden in the crowds in the dark theater. 

“So Cupcake, you get the information from LaF that you need for your project?” She asked, mostly to pass the time.   
“Yeah.” Laura nodded with a grin. “Have either of you seen Wizard of Oz yet?”   
“No.” Carmilla and Danny shook their heads.   
“Me either. I’ve heard it’s good.” 

Eventually they were allowed into the theater and filed in along with the others loitering around the lobby.   
“Danny, you should go first.” Laura gently pushed her friend forward.   
“Sure. Why?” The redhead smiled.   
“Because I want to sit next to both of you.” Laura answered simply. Carmilla wasn’t sure if that was entirely truthful, or if the girl was trying to keep them separated so they didn’t argue. 

Carmilla paid scant attention to the movie, spending most of the time watching Laura’s face in the dim light. She knew she shouldn’t, but how was she supposed to stop being over the moon for this girl? Plus, today was probably one of the last days they’d see each other. 

In the lobby after the movie Laura volunteered to throw out their popcorn bags, so Carmilla and Danny passed theirs to her. They waited by the doors as the tiny brunette disappeared into the crowd in search of a trash can.   
“Did you like it?” Carmilla monotoned. Danny looked startled for a second before responding, adjusting her scarf.   
“Yeah. You?”   
“It was okay.” Carmilla shrugged. She immediately regretted starting a conversation about the movie she’d just blatantly ignored. 

Everyone turned toward the bang, as though something large had fallen to the floor. Carmilla was already pushing through the crowd when Laura screamed for her.  
“CARMI-” She was cut off. People were frozen in shock in a large circle around the scene. Carmilla pushed through to find three men with guns, one of whom held Laura’s nose and mouth in one hand, her head pressed to his chest, his gun to her temple. The teen was trying to fight his grip despite her very limited amount of oxygen and the threat of being shot in the head at any moment. The men were attempting to drag Laura off, but some people from the crowd were doing their best to keep them in the theater. The two men who weren’t holding Laura were threatening everyone with their guns, but the Good Samaritans refused to allow them to kidnap Laura. 

Carmilla sprinted forward and knocked out one of the men, but the other fired at her. The crowd screamed and ran as self-preservation broke through shock, and Carmilla cried out as she dropped to one knee, hit in her left shoulder. Laura stopped struggling at that. The bullet had torn through a gun holster strap and a brassiere strap in addition to her flesh. Her fangs descended from the pain.   
“ _Scheiße_. Leave the girl and no-one dies.” Carmilla growled, clutching her left shoulder with her right hand as she aimed her gun at the man’s head. She was glad the bullet wasn’t silver, but it still hurt like a motherfucker. “I know you want her dad’s money, _La Cosa Nostra_ ’s money, but that girl is not the way to getting that, and if you try to take her, I’ll just ice you.”  
“Sure thing, lady.” The man sneered and again tried to haul Laura away, shifting his grip across her shoulders and under one arm.   
“Laura, Danny, close your eyes!” Carmilla yelled, aiming for the man not holding Laura. She waited 2 long seconds to give the girls time to process and obey her command before letting off a shot. Her ears rang and she screamed as more pain lanced her shoulder and the man fell to the floor. Blood pooled around him, his heartbeat faltering to a stop. She tried to ignore the scent of fresh blood. 

The man holding Laura tried to say something. “I can’t hear you, _depperter_.” She scowled. “There’s something here you don’t understand. The only way you make it out of here alive is if you don’t harm a hair on her head. Her dad’s a _capo_ so if she gets hurt, you’ll have to deal with pretty much the entire _borgata_ after you. Hell, maybe all 5, they’re big on family. Nod if you understand.” He did. “Good. Now let her go.” He shook his head and pulled Laura away, shooting at Carmilla. She dove to the side, behind a pillar, and took a second to look around for Danny while pushing herself up against the pillar to stand. The redhead wasn’t to be seen. _Scheiße_. He’d wasted quite a few shots, she could see 3 bullet holes in the walls and floor. Now he and Laura were definitely temporarily deafened, too. 

Carmilla peered around the pillar and saw Laura flip the man over her back and run to her. Carmilla grabbed the kid and pushed her down behind the pillar, pointing for her to stay there. Laura nodded, eyes wide and breathing hard. Carmilla walked over to where the man was reaching for his dead associate’s gun and put her foot on his neck, still clutching her left shoulder. “I want to whack you right now.” She said, as conversationally as she could manage while deaf. Not that he could even hear her. She really shouldn't be talking, inhaling, next to the pool of fresh blood, but she was angry and in pain and it made her a little sadistic. “I could do it just like this, just stand on your neck until your brain doesn’t get enough blood. Or pop you right in the forehead. But someone needs to go to prison. So I’ll have to live with this.” She glanced down and shot him in the knee, the ringing in her ears intensified. As did the scent of fresh blood. She needed to leave very soon. 

The wall nearby crumbled in a small area and Carmilla turned to look for the shooter. Danny was lying atop the man Carmilla had knocked out, now conscious, and was trying to wrestle his gun away. If the ginger wasn’t deaf before, she was now. Carmilla had let the man live and that was the thanks she received. She aimed at his head to still him, and was sorely tempted to just kill him, but Danny was right there; so she shot him in the knee, too, muttering ‘ _Schleich di’_ as she did so. She put her gun back in her holster, grabbed the girls and her purse, and they left out the back. The redhead unwound her scarf from her neck and passed it to Carmilla as they walked to the car. She took it with an appreciative nod and pressed it to her left shoulder, though she hissed as it made the pain somehow even worse. Danny’s bruising was mostly green and yellow now, very little purple left to speak of. Laura pulled Carmilla’s Thermos from her purse and the vampire downed it quickly. It didn’t help her fangs retract, but she barely noticed the annoyance over the unrelenting intense pain in her shoulder. 

She drove to her place one-handed and they entered through the back door. Carmilla had debated sending the students up to her room and teleporting up alone, but she’d only teleported once, a few feet, unhindered by walls, and not shot. Plus she was already losing blood, she didn't want to do something as energy-draining as teleporting and chance passing out. Luckily they didn’t see anyone else in the halls. Carmilla locked her door after them and grabbed a bottle of blood from her refrigerator. At some point during the drive her fangs had retracted. She started untwisting the cap with her teeth when Laura took the bottle from her, removing the cap herself.   
“Thanks.” Carmilla said quickly before chugging it, not that Laura could hear. It took her less than a minute to drain the bottle, but she was pretty sure her hearing was returning by the time she’d finished. 

She ripped off her ruined blazer, dropped the broken holster, and tore open the neck of her blouse as she walked over to her mirror to inspect the wound. Blood seeped from the hole, which didn’t continue out her back. On one hand, she was only losing blood from one hole, and didn’t have to mend a shattered shoulder blade (that much was evident from her still being able to aim a gun), but on the other hand it meant she had a hunk of metal in her. It wasn’t silver, so it wouldn’t kill her, but it was still probably not good to leave it there. She grabbed her blazer with her right hand and mouth and started tearing it to pieces, first taking the less-absorbent material and sticking it into her mouth, then screaming into that as she plugged the bullet hole with the more absorbent material. Her hearing was definitely getting better, she could hear herself, and not just the vibrations through her skull. 

Neither of the students had covered their ears, though they were both studiously looking away. Carmilla chugged another bottle of blood, wiped her bloody hands on a towel she moistened from a cup of water, shoved more blood and a clean blouse and brassiere in a bag, stuck the gun into her waistband, put on a clean blazer (with Laura’s help), and they left. Both girls asked where they were going, but they were still mostly deaf so Carmilla just shook her head. When they got to the bar she asked if they could hear. 

“Kind of.” Laura responded loudly while Danny nodded and wiggled her fingers in her ears. Carmilla gestured them to follow her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Austrian Swears:  
> Scheiße- Shit  
> Depperter- Idiot  
> Schleich di- Fuck off 
> 
> Explanation of Mafia terms:  
> La Cosa Nostra- literally "the thing we do", another name for the Mafia.  
> Capo- a leader in charge of at least 10 soldati.  
> Borgata- the Mafia, the family (one of five) that you're a part of.
> 
> Previously titled "I'm Stressed About Finals and Can't Think of a Chap Title". 
> 
> So that was the firefight, next Thursgay is the aftermath!


	18. Laura and Danny Meet Big Toby

All conversation ceased as they entered the bar. The girls looked around as Carmilla nodded to a few guys.   
“Karny.” Big Toby walked over, his heavy footfalls making Laura bounce a smidgen.   
“Big Toby.” She hugged the man with her right arm. “I need you to try to keep _omertà_  around these two.” She breathed in his ear before letting go. “This is part of my current job. These are Laura Hollis and her friend Danielle, who both have some temporary hearing loss.” She introduced. “Ladies, this is my friend Big Toby. He’ll keep an eye out for you while I take care of some business.” They both looked confused and probably didn’t hear much of what she’d said, but accepted Carmilla walking away.   
“Woah, Karny, what’s going on?” Big Toby put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, but he happened to grab her left shoulder and she gasped in pain, dropping to a knee again, instinctively grabbing his hand quite hard. Quite a few men looked over as her reputation sank quicker than a guy with cement shoes.   
“Jesus, Big Toby.” She rose shakily, grabbing a table for support.   
“What happened?” He asked, concerned.   
“I got hit and we need to lie low.” She unbuttoned her blazer to show her torn and bloody blouse. “I’m pretty sure we’re clean, I just need a doc who’s not a snitch and to keep them safe.”  
“Yeah, sure. I got these two. Eric, quit gawking and give Karny a hand to the back.” He commanded a guy a few feet away, who was staring at Carmilla. She allowed him to pull her right arm over his shoulders, but pushed his hand off her left hip as he supported some of her weight. 

They ducked behind the bar and knocked before entering the back room. The doctor looked up from his book and she nodded. “One bullet, less than an hour ago.” She told the man. He nodded and started grabbing his supplies. Eric helped her put her bag on the ground and get her blazer off before leaving, apparently either too scared of her to see her disrobed, or possibly a homosexual. She finished tearing off her blouse and brassiere, and took the gun out of her waistband. She let out all the air in her lungs before yanking the cloth out of her bullet hole. Her eyes shut and mouth opened involuntarily at the pain, but she had no air with which to scream. She inhaled shakily and half-fell back on the table. Gods, she still needed blood.   
The doctor covered her breasts with her ruined blouse to give her some privacy should someone else come back while Carmilla was still here.  
“Ether?” He asked. She shook her head, she was already slightly out of it just from blood loss, and needed to be able to protect the students. “Try not to tense up.” He admonished when she grabbed the sides of the table, which made her left shoulder hurt more. She nodded and relaxed her muscles while exhaling slowly. 

She didn’t inhale, just grit her teeth and mouthed curse words while he pulled out the many fibers from her blazer pieces, then stuck the long thin tongs deeper in her shoulder and tried to grab the bullet. It took him a few tries, her shoulder already trying to heal itself didn't help, but Carmilla focused on keeping her left shoulder muscles relaxed and not screaming. She grabbed the edge of the table with her right hand, and cried out involuntarily, but managed to keep it quiet and only arched her back in pain a few times. When he pulled the bullet out of her shoulder Carmilla tried to sit up, but he told her to stay down. “Luckily it looks like the bullet stayed in one piece, but you’re not done.” She sighed loudly, but did as she was told, resting a minute,  waiting until he sewed her up and taped gauze over the wound. “Alright, you’re done. I can’t help you if it gets infected, so try to keep it clean.” He washed off the bullet as she slowly sat up and carefully, painfully changed into her clean brassiere and blouse. When he was done he unceremoniously put the bullet on the table and returned to his book. Once she’d returned the gun to her waistband and pulled on her blazer she grabbed her bullet and bag and returned to the bar, a little lightheaded from blood loss and pain. The bartender gave her a shot, which she downed in one swallow.   
“Could've used this about 20 minutes ago.” She stated.  
“You didn't stop.” He shrugged and accepted the shot glass back. 

All eyes were on her as she set her bag down by the billiards table her friends were at and leaned against the large table. She rolled her eyes and used her right hand to hold the bullet above her head. The men all cheered.   
“About time.” Someone nearby laughed good-naturedly.   
“We were starting to bet that you were a demon or something.” His drinking partner added with a smile and raise of his drink. Laura and Danny looked around the bar, confused.   
“How well can you hear?” Carmilla asked, leaning in.   
“Mostly.”   
“Pretty good.” They responded.   
“This,” she held the bullet in her palm, “is just a tradition here.” She pocketed it and grabbed a bottle from her bag. Laura opened it before Carmilla could even try, which the vampire sighed at before chugging the bottle.   
“So this is one of those tough-guy bars, right?” Danny asked. Carmilla shrugged her right shoulder, busy drinking back some of her lost energy.   
“Big Toby calls you Karny?” Laura asked. Carmilla nodded. “Why?” Carmilla looked to Big Toby.   
“Wasn’t sure if you’d find it embarrassing for these kids to know. Take a breath, woman, god!” He chuckled. Just to be contrary, Carmilla finished the bottle before gasping theatrically.  
“Big Toby calls me Karny for two reasons. One, because my last name is Karnstein. Two, because I’m so strong I could be a sideshow freak in a carnival, a carnie. The notion’s crossed my mind a few times, but never while a carnival’s in town.” She explained casually. It would actually be a good way to escape and hide if she ever needed to run from the mob, or Maman. Except she didn’t know how to find a carnival, and hiding her vampirism in that setting would be difficult, not to mention obtaining bottles of blood. Carmilla downed another bottle of blood, called the Hollis house, and quietly explained what happened to Mr. Hollis while she waited for the girls to lose to Big Toby at billiards before driving back to the Hollis’. She didn't like drinking blood in public, but she needed the energy. 

Mr. Hollis opened the front door as Carmilla pulled up.   
“Papa!” Laura cried as she ran into his arms. He held her tight, then hugged Danny. He shook Carmilla’s right hand and tearfully thanked her for keeping his daughter safe.   
“That's what you pay me for, sir.”   
“I’ve taken a few days off, but I’d like to talk to you further, say Thursday?”   
“Of course, sir. Where and when?”   
“Here? Is 7pm alright?”   
“Yes, sir.”   
“Then I’ll see you then. Goodnight Ms. Karnstein. Be safe.”   
“Goodnight Mr. Hollis.”   
“Night Carmilla.” Laura called softly.   
“Night Cupcake, Red.”  
“Uh, night.” Danny responded, surprised. Carmilla reminded herself she had yet to thank the ginger for saving her life. 

Carmilla allowed herself another 2 bottles of blood that night, but she really needed to slow down and not drink her entire refrigerator; but pushing through the pain and pretending to be okay in front of the humans took a lot of energy. She passed out on top of her pistol well before dawn Wednesday and didn’t wake until hours past dusk. Her back ached from sleeping on the pistol and her shoulder was stiff and painful, the little bandage soaked with blood. Luckily she knew every store nearby that was open late and what they sold, and only 10 miles away she could buy medical supplies. She stocked up on gauze, tape, and also got a pair of tongs and some medical needles and thread. If she got shot again, she wanted to be able to take care of it herself. She drank twice the blood she usually did and slept hard and long Thursday, as well. Accelerated healing took a lot out of her. 

Thursday night she bought a scarf before going to the Hollis’. As she expected, Danny was there.   
“Your family miss you yet, Red?” She montoned as she gave the teen the replacement scarf. Her bruises were barely noticeable anymore.   
“Can’t you ever just be nice?” She huffed.   
“Thanks for saving my life.” Carmilla replied quietly, sincerely. The Hollises looked at Danny in surprise.   
“It was nothing.” She deferred. Carmilla shrugged her right shoulder, she’d done what she needed to.   
“Well, the reason I asked you to come here is to ask if you’d be willing to look out for Laura for another week, just to be safe. I don’t expect anything and I don’t have work again until Monday, so feel free to think it over and call me.” Mr. Hollis stated.    
“Sir, to be completely honest, as long as you continue to pay me I will continue to keep your daughter safe.”   
“No.” Laura interrupted in a warning tone, pointing at her father, before turning to the vampire. “Carmilla, why would you say that?”   
“It’s not forever, Princess, I promise.” Mr. Hollis chuckled.   
“Promise?” The teen asked.   
“Promise. One more week.” He stuck his hand out, they shook.  
“If that’s all, I’ll be back Monday afternoon.” Carmilla turned slowly toward the door and no-one stopped her. 

So she had another week with the cupcake, she mused as she drove, though that conversation could easily have occurred over telephone. She wondered if Danny would continue to feel the need to be there, watching her with Laura, the entire week. Probably. Maybe she could convince the kid that she wasn’t going to eat her protectee. Not likely. 

Carmilla debated getting her bullet made into a necklace or something like some guys did, but she didn’t often wear necklaces. Part of her was tempted to just throw it out, but it was the first bullet that she’d ever been hit with, and the sentimental sap part of her held onto it. Maybe it could be like a good luck charm. She didn’t do much for the next few nights, trying to let her shoulder heal as much as possible and relishing being able to sleep through the day uninterrupted. She was still drinking a lot of blood, falling asleep before dawn, and waking after dusk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation of Mafia Terms:  
> Omertà- a code of silence.


	19. Back to Babysitting

Monday afternoon brought the return of her alarm clock, she had ruined the schedule she’d finally gotten her body used to. Carmilla checked her bullet hole, pleased to find it was healing nicely. Maybe she could take the stitches out soon. She debated whether she should take the pistol with her or leave it behind, eventually deciding to stick it in her purse, just in case. It clinked against her blood bottles and she frowned. 

When she got to the Hollis’ she found her pay for the last week sitting on the couch. Laura and Danny arrived and casually greeted her, heading to Laura’s room to work on homework. 

“Hey, how’s your shoulder?” Laura wandered into the living room.   
“Better than Tuesday.” Carmilla shrugged her right shoulder. “How are you holding up?”   
“I’m…” Laura sat to Carmilla’s right on the couch, tucking her hands under her legs. “I’m pretty okay when I’m awake.” She mumbled. Unsure what to do to help, Carmilla hesitantly rubbed the teen’s back. She looked at the vampire, confused.   
“I’m trying, Sunshine.” She chuckled humorlessly. Laura dropped her head to Carmilla’s good shoulder and sighed. 

“Do you know if your dad has any leads?” She let her hand fall and tried to distract the kid.   
“Not that he’s told me. What’s _La Cosa Nostra_?” Laura failed to sound only idly curious.   
“Nothing you need to worry about.” Carmilla replied nonchalantly.   
“Whoever they are they must have a lot of money. You said those guys wanted money from my dad and/or _La Cosa Nostra_? Is it an Italian group? A cop group? Some other kind of group?” Carmilla kept a poker face as Laura thought aloud.   
“I told you, Young Miss Bly, you don’t need to worry about it; I’m sure your dad has it handled.”   
“Please?”   
“Laura, no.” They frowned at each other for a minute until Laura relented with a sigh.   
“I should get back to my homework.” She excused herself unconvincingly as she returned to her room. Carmilla wasn’t surprised in the least when Laura’s door closed and the whispering started. 

“She totally knows exactly what it is, but won’t tell me.” Laura stated.   
“Now what?”   
“I think we might be able to find it at the library. It’s probably a foreign language, so we just need to find the right book and translate it.”   
“Worth a shot. Did you want to go now?”   
“It’s kinda late, and my dad should be getting home soon. We can go after school tomorrow.” 

Laura told Carmilla the students would be studying at the library the next day, the girls were quiet for the rest of the evening, and Mr. Hollis thanked Carmilla again when he got home. 

Carmilla arrived half an hour later than normal on Tuesday, but she was still going to be alone for a while. Who knew how many foreign language books the library had? She decided checking on the students’ investigation of her was probably a good idea. She opened Laura’s armoire, keeping an ear on outside. Nearly all the papers taped to the inside of the doors were handwritten: notes from vampire stories, accounts of what they knew about her (the only thing they had real proof on was that she was a recent immigrant from Austria). The only typed things were the 2 little newspaper articles about that prostitute, and Laura’s copy of their contract. She scanned over it all and determined they had nothing she couldn’t undermine or explain away if they took it to an authority. She closed the doors and began reading on the couch. 

 She was taking a smoke break when the girls arrived, arguing. Carmilla could hear them pretty well through the car, watching their lips to fill in things she couldn’t quite make out.   
“-not going to hurt me.” Laura stated, annoyed.   
“She’s a vampire! Who works for the Mafia!” Danny interjected. Ah, _scheiße_ , they'd figured it out. Apparently using Mafia Italian terms and hoping they were deafened by the gunshots didn't work.   
“I know, I’m the one who figured that out; and before I convinced you she’s a vampire, she and I were alone for hours and nothing bad happened. And keep in mind this means my dad probably works for the mob, too.”   
“But after you figured out she's a vampire she choked me so hard I nearly passed out, and the bruises only just healed.” Danny pointed at her neck. “She. Is. Dangerous.”   
“She choked you because you tried to hurt her and you know it. Don’t forget she protected both of us from gunmen twice, and one was right after we freaking tied her up. She may be a raging… Bad person, but she’s not dangerous. I’ve never- Well, hardly ever been scared of her. And that was only when I found out she’s a greenhorn and got her mad at me.”   
“You shouldn’t be scared of the woman who’s protecting you, Laura, you know that.”   
“I’m not. I was scared of her that one time she was angry and that’s it, and nothing bad happened. To me.” She amended so quietly Carmilla could only guess that was what she said. Lipreading was hard.   
“Fine. You know what? Fine.” Danny stated angrily. Carmilla took that as her cue to finish her cigarette and go back inside. Laura followed a minute later. 

“I didn’t know you could read lips.” Laura stated accusingly. Carmilla didn’t look up from her book. “You’ll be glad to know Danny won’t be coming over this week.” She was glad, but she didn't like that the Buttercup was upset. She knew it was partly her fault and wanted to make it better, but how? After an hour of not being able to come up with a good way to cheer Laura up, Carmilla gave up and headed to the teen’s room, knocking on the open door. 

“What’s up?” Laura asked, looking up from a notebook. She was standing in front of her armoire, doors open, not even trying to hide her notes on the vampire.   
“I’m sorry I made you mad. How can I make it up to you?”   
“Don’t worry about it, Carmilla, I’m not mad at you.” Laura returned her gaze to her notebook. “Well, I am, but only a little bit. I understand why you hid being in the Mafia from me.”   
“How can I make it up to you?” Carmilla repeated softly, stepping into the room.   
“You can’t really. I’m not mad at you, just annoyed you eavesdropped on me and Danny. But mostly I’m mad at Danny for not trusting you, and mad at my dad for lying to me for so long.”   
“Well, I don’t really trust her.” Carmilla shrugged her right shoulder. “But she did save my life, so give the ginger giant some credit. Plus, I am a vampiric Mafioso, I can see why she's nervous. And it’s probably better for everyone if she and I don’t have to be around each other too much.” They stared at each other in silence for a minute. “I’ll be in the living room if you want company.” 

 She called and left a message for Mr. Hollis that Laura knew, explaining what happened when he arrived around 5. She was slightly worried that he'd blame her, but he just sighed and said that conversation was a long time coming, seeming to age before Carmilla's eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Austrian Swears:  
> Scheiße- Shit
> 
> Explanation of Mafia terms:  
> La Cosa Nostra- literally "the thing we do", another name for the Mafia.


	20. Go On and Kiss the Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for f-slur used as self-descriptor. 
> 
> (Chapter title from The Little Mermaid)

Surprisingly, Laura didn't pester Carmilla with a barrage of questions about the Mafia when she got home Wednesday, instead heading to her room. 

Carmilla looked up as Laura reentered the living room, heart beating hard, sans socks and shoes of course. Now the interrogation would happen, surely.  
“I don't have any homework tonight.” Laura stated leadingly, voice low, walking slowly and deliberately, her head tipped to the side and eyelids lowered. Carmilla raised her eyebrows at this development but didn't lower her book. Laura faltered for a second, biting her bottom lip, her face shifting to nervous. “I was thinking…” She tried again, sliding next to Carmilla on the couch. “Maybe we could fill the time together.” She gently lowered Carmilla’s book, her left hand on the vampire’s right. Carmilla quickly took the human’s hand in her own and brought it to her lips. Laura’s cheeks got pink, eyes wide, heartbeat faster.  
“Of course.” Carmilla murmured, lips brushing Laura’s fingers. “On one condition.”  
“What's that?”  
“You drop this ‘sexy’ act.” Carmilla lowered their joined hands but didn't let go, resting her left index finger under the girl’s chin. “You're plenty sexy without any act.” She smirked as the teen’s face got redder. “Now, I believe strip poker was what we last suggested?”  
“Yup.” Still-red faced, Laura pulled her gently to the pink and yellow bedroom. 

Learning to play poker proved enough distraction for Laura’s blush to abate, after she played a few hands without having to ask for help she was comfortable enough to start betting clothes. Laura pulled her socks back on and Carmilla shed her blazer and waistcoat, so they started with the same number of articles of clothing. Still no questions about the Mafia. 

“Don't go easy on me just because I just learned how to play.” Laura smiled, blushing a little.  
“Trust me,” Carmilla licked her lips, “I won't.” She dealt and they looked at their hands.  
“I wager my socks.”  
“You just hate socks.”  
“Yes. Are you going to uh, fold?”  
“I wager my nylons, then.” Laura won the first hand and Carmilla unselfconsciously pulled off her nylons as Laura watched, blushing hard. 

Carmilla passed the cards to Laura to shuffle and deal. “I wager my blouse.” She stated after looking at her hand.  
“Do I have to bet the same thing?”  
“No, bet whatever you feel like.”  
“Socks.” Laura deadpanned, Carmilla chuckled. Laura won again and Carmilla began unbuttoning her blouse from the bottom. 

“You're not just letting me... Um…” The teen trailed off as the black blouse slipped down Carmilla's arms.  
“Finish your thought, Cutie.” Carmilla smiled.  
“Does it still hurt?” Laura asked, concern on her face as she hesitantly reached for Carmilla's left shoulder.  
“Hmm?” Carmilla looked down at the gauze taped under her brassiere strap. “More annoying than painful.” She shrugged her right shoulder. Laura cautiously traced the edge of the gauze, fingertip brushing Carmilla's skin, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake, though that was probably just in her head. “I think I’ll be able to take the stitches out soon.” She added conversationally.  
“Already? It only happened, uh.” Laura paused to think.  
“8 days ago. I heal faster than humans.”  
“Right.” Laura pulled her hand back, clearly uncomfortable with that answer.  
“You want to play another hand and see if you can take your socks off?” Carmilla redirected with a smile.  
“Yeah.” 

Carmilla won that hand, but wasn't entirely sure Laura hadn't lost on purpose. It was difficult to tell if her heart rate and breathing were elevated from cheating at cards or being aroused or being nervous about asking Carmilla questions about being in the Mafia. Laura lost the fourth hand as well, face red and heartbeat fast as her fingers fumbled with her blouse buttons.  
“Hey. Cupcake.” Carmilla rested a finger on Laura's hands to stop her. The girl looked up. “You don't have to. We can stop if you want.” This was apparently the wrong thing to say, because Laura just scowled and attacked her blouse with renewed fervor. 

Laura balled up her blouse beside herself, holding her arms stiffly at her sides as Carmilla looked appreciatively. She was even cuter than Carmilla had imagined.   
“How far do you want to go, Cutie?” Carmilla asked seriously. “Next is skirts, will you be comfortable with that?” Laura bit her lip. “Alright. That's enough for today, then.” Carmilla said authoritatively.   
“Maybe-” Laura responded immediately. “Maybe we could just pause the game for a few minutes.”   
“Sure.” Carmilla idly shuffled the cards as Laura tried to feign unselfconsciousness. She watched the girl’s modesty and stubbornness clash, her arms alternately covering her chest or stiffly at her sides. One thing for sure, they would not be betting skirts today; not unless Laura suddenly became very comfortable with being seen in various states of undress. Carmilla didn't want to push the precious little human too fast. 

“I can think of something we could do that would take your mind off it.” Carmilla suggested quietly. Laura's gaze snapped to her and her cheeks tinted.   
“Wh- uh, what would that be?” Her heartbeat hadn't slowed.  
“I could give you a kiss.” She shrugged her right shoulder, like it wasn't a big deal, like she hadn't been wanting to kiss the sweet little teenager for weeks (when she wasn't so aggravated that she wanted to bite her).  
“Um.” Laura's cheeks were red again, arms loosely crossing her chest, where her heart was beating faster. “Okay.” Carmilla smiled slightly, leaning across the bit of floor where they'd been playing poker, putting her right hand down for balance. She gently traced Laura's jaw with the fingertips of her left hand, guiding her closer. The human’s lips were warm and soft and dry, eyes open and somehow curious. 

Carmilla leaned back with a small smile. Laura was staring into the middle distance, brows barely furrowed, mouth starting to twist to the side. Her arms were hanging at her sides, hands resting in her lap.   
“What are you thinking of?” Carmilla sighed with a smile. “I can practically hear the gears turning.”  
“Well, I thought- I mean, I always heard and read that when you kiss someone you, y’know _like_ like, that there's supposed to be a spark or something.” Carmilla's smile got bigger for a second when Laura admitted to liking her.  
“Well, we could try again.”  
“Okay.” Laura smiled shyly. Carmilla scooted closer.  
“Alright.” Carmilla whispered, tucking some of Laura's hair behind her ear. “Don't overthink it. Just close your eyes and feel.” Her eyes slid shut. 

Carmilla started with tracing the girl's face, running her fingertips along her hairline, the bridge of her nose, her cheekbones, jawbones. Carmilla put her thumb to Laura's lower lip, opening her mouth slightly; Laura's breath flowed in and out, ghosting over Carmilla's thumb nearly imperceptibly. Carmilla's left hand slid around to the back of Laura's neck, gently cradling and guiding Laura's head into the kiss. Carmilla sucked Laura's bottom lip, swept her tongue into the girl’s mouth for a second, and pulled away what she considered far too soon, hand trailing down Laura's bare arm to softly take her hand. Laura giggled breathily, heart still beating fast.  
“That was- that was definitely something.” She said, opening her eyes and squeezing Carmilla's hand.  She crawled closer for another kiss and Carmilla gladly obliged. Laura's hand came up to tangle in Carmilla's hair and the human didn't break the kiss until she was nearly gasping for breath. Carmilla gently rested their foreheads together, resisting the urge to keep kissing, to run her hands over all of Laura's exposed skin.  
“You're still not scared of me?” She whispered.   
“Should I be?” Laura responded. “You’ve never attacked me.” Carmilla chuckled at her naïveté.  
“I’m a vampire,” she paused to give Laura a quick kiss, “a mobster,” another kiss, “and a faggot,” a third kiss, “and you're not the least bit scared?” Laura stole a kiss of her own when Carmilla didn't, practically sitting in the vampire’s lap by this point.  
“No. Why, are you?” The girl turned the question around.  
“Terrified.” She admitted, barely audible to humans.  
“But you're a vampire who works for the Mafia.”  
“Cupcake, do you know what most people would do if they learned vampires are real? Do you understand how much the Mafia hates fags? And you,” Carmilla stroked Laura's cheek, “the fragile young human who stole my heart and figured out all my secrets?” She shook her head and chuckled again. “Terrified.” She repeated, giving Laura another kiss. She wasn't usually this eloquent, but damn if the Creampuff didn't bring out her centuries-old romantic side.  
“Well, I don't know about the rest of the Mafia, but Papa seemed pretty okay when I told him I like girls last night.” The human shrugged.  
“Oh?” Carmilla tried to suppress her worry.  
“I didn’t tell him about you. Or Danny.”  
“Thanks.” The young women lapsed into silence. 

“Well, speaking of your dad, we should probably clean this up before he gets home.” Carmilla sighed as she reached for her blouse.  
“He said he might be working late tonight.”  
“That also means he might be home on time and I do not want him to see me disrobed, especially around you.” She began to button it back up just as the telephone rang. She sighed and used her vampiric speed to finish and grab the telephone before it could ring too many times. 

“Hollis residence.”  
“Miss Karnstein, sorry to let you know so late but I’ll be working late tonight.”  
“Of course, sir.”  
“Laura let me know last night that she, uh,” he cleared his throat.  
“Yes, she just told me, as well.”  
“If Danielle Lawrence visits, please keep an eye on them.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“I’ll let you know the results of tonight’s endeavor when I get home.”  
“Thank you, sir.”  
“Good evening, Miss Karnstein.”  
“You too.” Carmilla hung up. 

She returned to Laura’s room to find the young woman adding ‘super speed’ to a list of things she knew about Carmilla taped inside her armoire. She had also put her blouse back on.  
“You wouldn’t be willing to tell me about any other enhanced abilities you have, would you?” Laura smiled.  
“And deny you the pleasure of discovering them yourself, Young Miss Bly?” Carmilla raised an eyebrow and grabbed her nylons from the floor.  
“You said I’ve figured out all your secrets.” She pouted. Goddamn, she was even cute when she pouted.  
“Did I? I must’ve misspoke. I meant almost all my secrets.” She smirked as Laura groaned and gently pecked the human’s cheek, wiping off the faint lipstick mark she left. “I believe you have a dinner in the refrigerator waiting to be cooked whenever you’re hungry.”  
“So Papa won't be home for a while?”  
“Yup.” 


	21. If Our Love's Insanity, Why Are You My Clarity?

Laura wandered into the living room while waiting for her dinner to cook and stood in front of Carmilla. The darker-haired woman lowered her book.  
“Is my dad going to kill the men who tried to hurt me?” She asked bluntly.  Carmilla blinked and raised an eyebrow. She had been expecting questions about the Mafia, but not that one straight off. “Or have them killed or anything?” Laura added.  
“What makes you think I’d know that? It has nothing to do with protecting you.”  
“He wouldn't tell you?”  
“Doll, have you ever heard of plausible deniability? Or willful ignorance?” Carmilla was half being hypothetical.  
“Yes.” Laura scowled. “I'm a journalism major, remember?”  
“Well, then you know how useless it is to ask me about things like that.” She raised her book.  
“You’re infuriating.” Laura groaned, flopping to the couch beside her.  
“You think you're not?” Carmilla glanced over to find Laura gape-mouthed and smirked.  
“Well, you still like me.” Laura shot back.  
“And you still like me.” Carmilla echoed with a small smile. Laura scooted closer to lean her arm against Carmilla's, leaning her head down to Carmilla's shoulder before she froze.  
“This isn't your shoulder that got shot, right?” She asked. Carmilla reached her left hand up to bring Laura's head the last few inches down to her right shoulder. “What’re you reading?” She asked, looking at the interior of Carmilla's book.  
“Metamorphoses by Ovid.”  
“What language is that?”  
“Latin.”  
“How _old_ are you?”  
“22, we’ve been over this.” She glanced at the girl to find her pouting and suppressed the urge to lean down and kiss her again. “I'm not going to make it that easy to find my secrets out, Cupcake.” She returned her gaze to her book and turned a page. She couldn't help but smile when Laura started trying to sound out the words under her breath, even though she had no idea what she was saying.

Carmilla continued to read as Laura had dinner, then cuddled up to her again, dropping off to sleep against her shoulder. Between this and Laura’s comment the other day about how she was okay when awake… Carmilla wondered how much sleep the girl had lost to nightmares, though she was sleeping peacefully now. She allowed herself to rest her cheek on the top of Laura's head. She smelled quite good.

Carmilla craned her neck to look out the window as a car slowed, nudging Laura awake as it turned into the driveway.  
“Creampuff, your dad’s home, go sleep in your bed.” The girl startled and sat up, appearing to be instantly fully alert.    
“I'm okay, I’m awake.”  
“No, you're not, go back to sleep in your bed.” Carmilla smiled.  
“No, I’m good, I’m fine, I shouldn't be napping anyway.”  
“Sweetheart, it's 11:30 at night. Go sleep in your bed.”  
“I slept that long?” Laura's brow furrowed in confusion and she ran a hand through her hair. “Usually I-” She cut herself off. Carmilla was about to ask about what she had been saying, but Mr. Hollis opened the door.

“Laura, what’re you doing up?” He asked, walking over to give her a hug.  
“I um, may have dozed off on the couch.” She smiled into his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m headed to bed. Night Papa, Carmilla.” They both returned the sentiment.

Mr. Hollis waited until Laura's door was shut to join Carmilla on the couch, leaning close again. He happened to sit on her left side.  
“So, it happened to be that a couple cops were on the take and as a result one of the men you shot in the knee happened to escape police custody.” He breathed. “Luckily some friends of ours caught him and he confessed everything, including where to find the men responsible for threatening and attacking my daughter.”  
“You just came from… Where?” She asked.  
“Taking care of him. The plan is to find the others tomorrow night.” Carmilla nodded her understanding.

“Oh, also, I’d like to offer you your button under me.” He said it so casually. Carmilla stared at him.  
“You want me to be a _soldati_ for you?”  
“Yeah, you've been a _cugine_ associate under that guy too long, you’ve clearly proven yourself. Not to mention what you've done for me.” He gestured to her left shoulder.  
“Yes, uh, thank you, sir.” She smiled as they shook hands.  
“Now that that's taken care of, I’m headed to bed. You're welcome to the guest bed if Danny isn't already there.”  
“She's not, but I’ll be going home. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Hollis.”  
“Drive safely, Miss Karnstein.”

Carmilla couldn't help grinning as she drove home. This had been the best day she’d had in a good long while, years, maybe decades.

Carmilla jolted awake as her alarm clock interrupted a dream about her protectee. She sighed heavily as she wondered where she stood with the girl. Were they girlfriends? Should Carmilla take her on a date? Should she broach the subject? It was probably better to wait until she didn't work for Laura's dad; except now she worked for him all the time.

Laura barely stopped at her bedroom to drop her backpack, shoes, and socks before slightly nervously curling up against Carmilla on the couch. The vampire kept her gaze on her book, but smiled slightly and rested her cheek on the girls head again.  
“Your dad is working late tonight.”  
“Okay.” Apparently sleep trumped curiosity.  
“Cupcake.” Carmilla nudged her awake. “Cupcake, if you're just going to sleep, how about going to your bed?” She smiled.  
“Sure.” Rubbing an eye with one hand, Laura lightly took Carmilla's hand and led her to the bedroom. She smiled at the human's sleepy actions, but obliged, sitting on the girl’s bed and letting her nap against her.

After a while Laura started to frown and mumble, shifting around. Carmilla put her book down and cautiously, slowly shifted into a black panther. Her purring settled the girl and she shifted back. She winced at the pain in her shoulder as the muscles pulled and stretched. It made her thirsty, but she’d left her Thermos in the living room, and couldn’t very well go get it now. She chuckled under her breath as she imagined what Mattie would say about her actions. Her big sister would likely laugh incredulously and call her something like 'smitten kitten’ for falling in love with a human again. And she was; totally, terrifyingly, smitten with the aggravating girl.

She checked the time and nudged Laura awake again.  
“Yeah?” She grumbled, rubbing her eyes.  
“You should eat dinner at some point. It's half past 7.” Laura sighed as she got up and stretched. Carmilla sat on the couch as Laura put food in the oven, then joined her on the couch, leaning against her again. “Don't fall back to sleep. I think I've proved I can't cook.” Carmilla turned a page.

“Any idea how late Papa’s working?”  
“Unfortunately not.”  
“Any idea what he's doing?”  
“Nothing that concerns you.”  
“Yeah right, Carmilla.” Laura scowled at her.  
“Let me rephrase. Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”  
“You know, I’m 19, I’m legally an adult, my dad can't control me. And I know you're both in the Mafia. You can tell me what he's doing.”  
“Except he's paying me to not tell you.” She turned another page.  
“Is he really? Did he tell you not to tell me _after_ I figured out you're part of the mob?” The girl queried. Carmilla sighed softly. Laura looked at her expectantly.  
“We didn’t discuss it. So my instructions to keep you away from all that haven’t changed.” It was Laura's turn to sigh.

“So what’s being in the Mafia like?” She tried.  
“A job.”  
“A job where you kill people?” She guessed. Carmilla didn’t respond. “How long have you been working for the mob?”  
“Few years.” Laura seemed content with short answers, for now at least.  
“So as long as you’ve been here?”  
“Near abouts.”  
“How’d you join?”  
“Why, you want to join? I think your dad would have a problem with that.”  
“No, I just don’t know that much about you.” Carmilla raised her eyebrows and looked at the girl.  
“Doll, you know more about me than oh, anyone else in the US.”  
“Okay, yes, you’re very secretive, but I still don’t know that much. What’s your favorite color?”  
“Black.”  
“When were you born?”  
“None of your business.” Laura thought for a minute.  
“That bar you took Danny and I to, is that Mafia-only?”  
“That would be nearly impossible to maintain.”  
“Okay. What's Austria like?”  
“Cold.”  
“What's your favorite food?”  
“Chocolate.”  
“That doesn't count.” Laura smiled, shifting her arm a little to gently elbow Carmilla.  
“No?” Carmilla smiled back at the girl.  
“No. Favorite _real_ food.”  
“You know I’m not really a fan of real food.” Carmilla reminded her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, inviting the human to cuddle closer.  
“I thought you said I shouldn't fall back to sleep?” She raised an eyebrow as she snuggled into Carmilla's side.  
“Well if you're going to fall asleep and burn your dinner, maybe we shouldn't cuddle.” Carmilla slowly lifted her arm and Laura pulled it back down.  
“Quit teasing, we both know you like me.” She smiled.  
“True.” She pecked the end of Laura's nose. The evening passed pleasantly, the young women simply enjoying each other’s company.

It was early morning and Laura had long ago gone to bed by the time Mr. Hollis got home. Carmilla looked up at him from the couch, but he just said,  
“It’s taken care of, Miss Karnstein, the less you know the better. You’re not required to keep an eye on Laura from now on.”  
“Yes sir. I may stop by tomorrow to talk with Laura again. If that’s alright with you.” He nodded and headed to bed.

The next afternoon Carmilla slept in a bit. She didn’t need to be at the Hollis’ when Laura arrived, and wasn’t sure what Mr. Hollis had told his daughter. She called the girl when she woke, just to let her know Carmilla was coming over. Snow was just starting to fall as she drove.  
“Carmilla!” Laura grinned from the front door as the vampire walked up. She couldn’t help the smile her face made in return, which Mattie would have teased her for.  
“Hey, Cupcake.” She easily picked up the teen in a hug in the doorway and carried her inside, shutting the door behind them to keep the cold out.  
“Hey!” Laura squirmed to be put down, which Carmilla did. “So Papa told me you don’t need to protect me anymore.”  
“Yup.”  
“So you don’t work for him anymore and can tell me what you know.”  
“On the contrary, he offered me a permanent position under him, and I accepted.”  
“Oh? What will you be doing?”  
“Not sure.”  
“Well, will you be getting paid better?”  
“Probably.” She shrugged.  
“So why’d you accept?”  
“‘Cause I’d probably get to spend more time around you.” She stuck her hands in her pockets. Laura laughed.  
“Or you can just come by to say hi and spend some time, especially if we’re…?” She trailed off nervously, running a hand through her hair. Her eyes kept darting from Carmilla’s eyes to her lips, and the darker-haired woman was having the same struggle.  
“We are, right?” Carmilla breathed, stepping close.  
“I want us to be.” Their hands rose to cradle each other’s faces as Carmilla leaned in for a kiss, smiling as Laura kissed her again and again.

“What about your dad?” She hated to sour the mood, but it was weighing on her mind.  
“I think he might have kind of figured it out.”  
“Danny?”  
“She’ll have to live with it.” Laura shrugged. Carmilla smiled and kissed her again, Laura’s hands found Carmilla’s hair as she went up on her toes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! Sorry this took so long, all. I'm 99% sure this is the last chapter, so if you have any questions I'll be more than happy to answer them in comments! 
> 
> Explanation of Mafia Terms:  
> Button- to become part of the mob.  
> Soldati- the lowest members of the Mafia that are considered part of the mob.  
> Cugine- a person trying to join the mob.


	22. Merry Christmas!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise epilogue!

Carmilla knocked on the door.  
“I really wish my dad had let you keep that house key.” Laura sighed, opening the door.  
“Merry Christmas to you, too, Creampuff.” Carmilla chuckled, stepping inside.  
“I called you yesterday to say Merry Christmas.” Laura objected. “And you really don't strike me as the ‘merry’ type, are you feeling okay?”  
“I'm merry when you're around.” Carmilla tucked a lock of hair behind Laura's ear. “In fact,” she leaned in to whisper in Laura's ear, “I'm downright gay.”  
“Papa, Carmilla's here, we're going to my room.” Laura called, grinning.  
“Door open. Merry Christmas, Carmilla.” He responded from the kitchen.  
“Merry Christmas, sir.”  
“We know.” Carmilla and Laura replied at the same time. 

“I hate how he acts like we're going to do stuff, like you're corrupting me.” Laura groaned, sitting on her bed.  
“Well, I did corrupt you.” Carmilla smirked, sitting beside her.  
“You know what I mean.” Laura shoved her arm playfully.  
“It took us about two weeks after you told him about you to tell him about us, and that was only about two weeks ago.” Carmilla pointed out. “From his point of view, I start being around you, the two of us alone for hours, then you tell him you like girls and two weeks later we tell him we're dating? I totally infected you.”  
“Well, there's no cure for the gay, you're stuck with me for life.” Laura teased. “Death.” She corrected herself. “Undea-” Carmilla covered Laura's mouth, glaring at her. For wanting to be a journalist, she was almost as bad at keeping a secret as Carmilla was at lying. Laura frowned right back, pushing Carmilla's hand away.  
“I'd really rather your dad not know all my secrets, Cupcake, I'm not sure he's decided not to kill me yet.”  
“He didn't even fire you.” Laura objected.  
“Best way to keep an eye on me. Anyway, I'm not here to talk about your dad, I'm here to give you your Christmas present.”

She pulled a long, thin box from her purse, the contents rattled slightly. Laura accepted it, gently shaking it and holding it to her ear.  
“A necklace?” She guessed, smiling.  
“Just open it, Cupcake.” She watched Laura's face as the girl took the lid off. Curiosity, surprise, and delight, Carmilla grinned at her girlfriend's reaction.  
“Oh, I love it!” Carmilla nearly fell over as Laura launched herself at the vampire for a hug.   
“I'm glad.”  
“I have your present, too!” Laura bounced up, reached into her armoire and pulled out a very thin square present. “I hope you have a record player.” She smiled nervously as she handed Carmilla the wrapped present. Carmilla's grin widened when she tore the wrapping paper off to find herself holding a collection of violin jazz from the greats. “You like it?”  
“It's perfect.” She pulled Laura's head down to kiss her cheek.  
“I'm going to show Papa my new necklace.” Laura grinned. Smiling, Carmilla followed her to the kitchen.

“Papa, look what Carmilla got me for Christmas!” Laura passed him the box.  
“Very pretty.” He commented with a small smile. “Carmilla, I have a gift for you, as well.” He stepped away from the stove and reached up to the top of the refrigerator. Carmilla pulled out her present for him at the same time.  
“I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate or not, but…” she murmured. He chuckled and they traded wrapped bottles, Carmilla pulled off the paper to find a bottle of whiskey, Mr. Hollis a bottle of Italian wine.  
“Ooooooh.” Laura commented, looking at both the bottles.  
“Thank you, sir.” Carmilla smiled politely.  
“Thank you, too.” Mr. Hollis turned to put the wine with his other liquor.  
“I'm going to change into something that matches my new necklace.” Laura declared with a grin.  
“I will wait in the living room.” Carmilla replied, mostly for Mr. Hollis’ benefit.

The phone rang.   
“Carmilla, could you please get that?” Mr. Hollis called. She grabbed the handset.  
“Hollis residence, who, may I ask, is calling?”  
“Fangface?”  
“Lawrence. Laura's busy right now, can I take a message?”  
“Yeah, okay.” The girl sighed.  
“Oh, hold on, I need to find pen and paper.” Carmilla smiled.  
“Cut the crap, they're right by the phone.” Danny growled.  
“They must have been moved, I can't find them.” Carmilla doodled flowers on the pad of paper that was right next to the phone.  
“Look, Dead Girl, I was over two days ago to exchange gifts with Laura, and the paper and pen were right where they're supposed to be!”  
“Are you sure about that?” Carmilla looked up as Laura reentered the living room, wearing a plum-colored button-up, brown corduroy skirt, and her new necklace. It fell just past her collar, and was made of light purple tear-drop shaped glass 'stones’ arranged in flowers, set in gold-plating.  
“Look, will you just tell Laura-”  
“Putting you on hold.” Carmilla told Danny distractedly, setting the handset on the side table.

“I love it.” Laura grinned, running her hand over the necklace.  
“I love you.” Carmilla breathed, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around the girl. Laura giggled and went up on her tiptoes to kiss Carmilla’s cheek.  
“Who’s on the phone?”  
“The ginger giant.” Carmilla replied evenly. “She’s not happy.”  
“She hasn’t really been happy lately.” Laura sighed and picked up the handset. “Hey Danny.” Carmilla could hear Danny's angry tone, even with Laura holding the handset to her head, and standing a few feet away. “We're exchanging Christmas presents. It's not a big deal. I'm sorry you had to talk with her, but- … Well I'm sorry for that too, even though I had nothing to do with it. And before you say anything, her putting you on hold for a few seconds was my fault, so I'm sorry a third time. Now that that's out of the way, what did you call about?” Laura's face brightened at whatever Danny said. “That's so sweet! Would tomorrow night be alright? … Sounds good. And you're cool to drive me both ways? Tell your family 'thank you’ for me, see you tomorrow at 6. Bye, Danny.” She set the handset in the cradle and turned to Carmilla, frowning.

“Would you PLEASE stop antagonizing my best friend?”  
“I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.” Carmilla couldn't look Laura in the face.  
“Neither one of you likes talking to each other, why would you pretend you couldn't find pen and paper? That means you'll have to talk to her longer.” Laura sighed.  
“I understand how time works, Buttercup.”  
“You are old enough to be the bigger woman- Do not make a height joke, Carmilla.” Laura interrupted herself. Carmilla shut her mouth. The human’s anger was adorable, but Carmilla had to at least pretend to be chastised. “Please stop needling Danny. I really want both of you to be in my life, and if one of you makes the other leave, I'm going to be heartbroken.” Laura hugged her. “Please?”  
“Of course, Creampuff.” She promised, wrapping her arms around the girl. “No instigation.”  
“Hey.” Laura turned her head to whisper in Carmilla's ear. “Can you even drink alcohol?”  
“Yes.” Carmilla smiled. 

Mr. Hollis cleared his throat as he entered the living room and the women reluctantly dropped their grasp.  
“Carmilla, will you be staying for dinner? The chicken cacciatore is almost done.”  
“No thank you, sir. I should be heading out. Bye, Cupcake.” She gave Laura a quick peck on the lips and headed to the door. It was a risk doing so in front of Mr. Hollis, but she and Laura were girlfriends, and it was the day after Christmas. “Bye, Mr. Hollis. Thank you both for the presents. Merry Christmas.”  
“Bye, Carmilla. Merry Christmas.” Laura watched her out the front door, smiling and waving as she drove away. 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [If Our Love is Tragedy... podfic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11611866) by [StephaniD](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StephaniD/pseuds/StephaniD)




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